Lee Gi-hyuk
South Korean footballer (born 2000)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lee Gi-hyuk (Korean: 이기혁; born 7 July 2000) is a South Korean professional footballer who plays as a defender or defensive midfielder for K League 1 club Gangwon FC and the South Korea national team.[1]
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Lee in 2025 | |||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 7 July 2000 | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Seoul, South Korea | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||||||||||||||||
| Positions | |||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||
Current team | Gangwon FC | ||||||||||||||||
| Number | 13 | ||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
| 2013–2018 | Ulsan Hyundai | ||||||||||||||||
| College career | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 2019–2020 | University of Ulsan | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 2021–2022 | Suwon FC | 35 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2023 | Jeju United | 19 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2024– | Gangwon FC | 80 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | |||||||||||||||||
| 2022– | South Korea | 6 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 17 May 2026 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 24 June 2026 | |||||||||||||||||
Club career
After attending University of Ulsan for two years, Lee joined K League 1 club Suwon FC prior to the 2021 season.[2] On 27 February 2021, he made his professional debut in the club's league opener against Daegu FC, where they drew 1–1.[3] He played as a central or wide midfielder for two years at Suwon FC before transferring to the same league's Jeju United in 2023.[4] On 24 May 2023, he scored his first professional goal in a 4–3 Korean FA Cup win over Daejeon Hana Citizen.[5]
On 20 January 2024, Lee moved to another K League 1 club Gangwon FC.[6] He started to be deployed as a centre-back or left-back at Gangwon, and helped the team finish runners-up at the league.[7] By director Kim Byung-ji, his tactical understanding was compared to Yoo Sang-chul, who had been able to be used in every midfield or defensive position at the South Korea national team.[8]
International career
In September 2021, Lee was called up to the South Korea under-23 team for a training camp ahead of the 2022 AFC U-23 Asian Cup qualification.[9] In July 2022, he was called up to the South Korea national team for the 2022 EAFF E-1 Football Championship. On 24 July, he made his international debut in a 3–0 EAFF Championship win over Hong Kong.[10]
Lee was suddenly selected for the national team for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.[11] He did not play for South Korea for about four years, but his performances at the K League 1 impressed manager Hong Myung-bo, who had to find a replacement for injured centre-back Kim Ju-sung just before the tournament.[7] After another centre-back Kim Tae-hyeon was injured in training two days before the team's opener,[12] he played three group stage matches as a starter.[13]
Career statistics
Club
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Continental | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Suwon FC | 2021 | K League 1 | 15 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 16 | 0 | |
| 2022 | K League 1 | 20 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 21 | 0 | ||
| Total | 35 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 37 | 0 | |||
| Jeju United | 2023 | K League 1 | 19 | 0 | 4 | 1 | — | 23 | 1 | |
| Gangwon FC | 2024 | K League 1 | 35 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 35 | 0 | |
| 2025 | K League 1 | 31 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3[a] | 0 | 36 | 0 | |
| 2026 | K League 1 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4[a] | 0 | 18 | 0 | |
| Total | 80 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 89 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 134 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 149 | 1 | ||
- Appearances in AFC Champions League Elite
International
- As of match played 24 June 2026
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Korea | 2022 | 1 | 0 |
| 2023 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2024 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2025 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2026 | 5 | 0 | |
| Total | 6 | 0 | |
Honours
South Korea
- EAFF Championship runner-up: 2022[15]
