Lee Myung-jae
.jpg) Lee in 2024 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 4 November 1993 | ||
| Place of birth | Seoul, South Korea | ||
| Height | 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Left back | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Daejeon Hana Citizen | ||
| Number | 16 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2012–2013 | Hongik University | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2014–2025 | Ulsan HD | 193 | (1) |
| 2014 | → Albirex Niigata (loan) | 5 | (0) |
| 2020–2021 | → Gimcheon Sangmu (draft) | 8 | (0) |
| 2025 | Birmingham City | 3 | (0) |
| 2025– | Daejeon Hana Citizen | 3 | (1) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2012–2013 | South Korea U20 | 5 | (0) |
| 2014–2015 | South Korea U23 | 6 | (0) |
| 2024– | South Korea | 7 | (0) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 27 July 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 19 November 2024 | |||
| Lee Myung-jae | |
| Hangul | 이명재 |
|---|---|
| Hanja | 李明載 |
| RR | I Myeongjae |
| MR | I Myŏngjae |
Lee Myung-jae (Korean: 이명재; Hanja: 李明載; born 4 November 1993) is a South Korean footballer who plays as a left-back for K League 1 club Daejeon Hana Citizen and the South Korea national team.[1]
Club career
[edit]Ulsan HD
[edit]Lee joined Ulsan Hyundai in 2014 and made his league debut against Incheon United on 23 March 2014. He was loaned to Albirex Niigata on 24 June 2014.
Birmingham City
[edit]On 3 February 2025, after 11 years at Ulsan HD, Lee signed on a free transfer for English EFL League One team Birmingham City until the end of the 2024-25 season, joining compatriot Paik Seung-ho at the club.[2] He eventually made his debut on 18 April, replacing established left-back Alex Cochrane during the second half of a goalless draw at home to Crawley Town.[3]
On 20 May 2025, the club announced he would be leaving in June when his contract expired.[4]
International career
[edit]Lee was a member of the South Korea national U-20 team for the 2014 Toulon Tournament.
Lee made his debut for the senior South Korea national team on 21 March 2024 in a 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Thailand.[5]
In the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Iraq on 15 October 2024, Lee Myung-jae completely deceived the opponent and assisted Lee Jae-seong's headed goal with an accurate cross.[6]
Club statistics
[edit]- As of match played 27 July 2025[7]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Ulsan HD | 2014 | K League 1 | 2 | 0 | 1[c] | 0 | — | 1[d] | 0 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2015 | K League 1 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 19 | 0 | |||
| 2016 | K League 1 | 5 | 0 | 1[c] | 0 | — | — | 6 | 0 | |||
| 2017 | K League 1 | 32 | 1 | 4 | 0 | — | 1[d] | 0 | 37 | 1 | ||
| 2018 | K League 1 | 32 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 6[d] | 0 | 41 | 0 | ||
| 2019 | K League 1 | 24 | 0 | 1[c] | 0 | — | 7[d] | 0 | 32 | 0 | ||
| 2021 | K League 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 4[d] | 0 | 7 | 0 | ||
| 2022 | K League 1 | 19 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 5[d] | 0 | 26 | 0 | ||
| 2023 | K League 1 | 30 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 4[d] | 1 | 35 | 1 | ||
| 2024 | K League 1 | 28 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | 10[d] | 1 | 42 | 1 | ||
| Total | 193 | 1 | 18 | 0 | — | 38 | 2 | 249 | 3 | |||
| Albirex Niigata (loan) | 2014 | J1 League | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 5 | 0 | |
| Gimcheon Sangmu (draft) | 2020 | K League 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2021 | K League 2 | 8 | 0 | 1[c] | 0 | — | — | 9 | 0 | |||
| Total | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 9 | 0 | ||||
| Birmingham City | 2024–25 | League One | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | |
| Daejeon Hana Citizen | 2025 | K League 1 | 3 | 1 | — | — | — | 3 | 1 | |||
| Career total | 212 | 2 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 38 | 2 | 269 | 4 | ||
Honours
[edit]Ulsan HD
Gimcheon Sangmu
Birmingham City
Individual
References
[edit]- ^ 크로스가 약한 韓축구? 이명재의 왼발을 주목하라 post.naver.com
- ^ "Blues complete signing of Myung-Jae Lee". Birmingham City F.C. 3 February 2025. Archived from the original on 22 May 2025. Retrieved 3 February 2025.
- ^ Dicken, Alex (19 April 2025). "What Lee Myung-jae's debut proved as Birmingham City transfer need highlighted". Birmingham Live. Retrieved 19 April 2025.
- ^ "Grant Hanley: Birmingham City defender one of two players released". BBC Sport. 20 May 2025. Retrieved 22 May 2025.
- ^ "South Korea v Thailand game report". ESPN. 21 March 2024.
- ^ 조선일보 (15 October 2024). "'이라크전 승리' 홍명보 감독의 미소 "올해 가장 중요한 경기, 승리해서 기쁘다"[현장 기자회견]". 조선일보 (in Korean). Retrieved 11 November 2024.
- ^ "Lee Myung-Jae". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 3 May 2025.
- ^ "JoinKFA" (in Korean). Korea Football Association.
External links
[edit]- LEE Myeongjae – K League stats at kleague.com (in Korean)
- Lee Myung-Jae at Soccerway
- Lee Myung-jae at J.League (archive) (in Japanese)
- Myung-Jae Lee at Football.com at the Wayback Machine (archived April 19, 2015)
  | This biographical article related to a South Korean association football defender is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
- 1993 births
- Living people
- 21st-century South Korean sportsmen
- Men's association football defenders
- South Korean men's footballers
- South Korea men's under-20 international footballers
- South Korea men's under-23 international footballers
- South Korea men's international footballers
- South Korean expatriate men's footballers
- Albirex Niigata players
- Ulsan HD FC players
- Birmingham City F.C. players
- Daejeon Hana Citizen
- J1 League players
- K League 1 players
- English Football League players
- South Korean expatriate sportspeople in Japan
- South Korean expatriate sportspeople in England
- Expatriate men's footballers in Japan
- Expatriate men's footballers in England
- South Korean football defender stubs