Lee Gi-hyuk (; 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.
Club career After attending University of Ulsan for two years, Lee joined K League 1 club Suwon FC prior to the 2021 season. On 27 February 2021, he made his professional debut in the club's league opener against Daegu FC, where they drew 1–1. 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. On 24 May 2023, he scored his first professional goal in a 4–3 Korean FA Cup win over Daejeon Hana Citizen.
On 20 January 2024, Lee moved to another K League 1 club Gangwon FC. He started to be deployed as a centre-back or left-back at Gangwon, and helped the team finish runners-up at the league. 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.
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. 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.
Lee was suddenly selected for the national team for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. 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. After another centre-back Kim Tae-hyeon was injured in training two days before the team's opener, he played three group stage matches as a starter.
2026 Asian Games military exemption controversy Immediately after Lee secured eligibility for the benefits of an Arts and Sports Personnel program by winning a gold medal at the 2026 Asian Games, Lee, alongside Yang Min-hyeok and Park Seung-soo, became the center of controversy. Lee openly stated in an interview following his gold-medal victory “I’m not going to the military.” Netizens subsequently criticized Lee with comments such as “Is his brain made of muscle too?” and “You fucking stupid piece of shit". The incident resulted in lawmakers calling for the military service benefit granted for Asian Games gold medals to be reconsidered. Lee apologized for his remarks, saying that “I should have thought about the weight my words carried as captain and should have spoken each phrase with that responsibility in mind” and added that “I think I have disrespected and hurt our fans and those faithfully serving their military duties.”
Career statistics
Club
+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueCupContinentalTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsSuwon FC2021K League 115010—1602022K League 120010—210Total35020—370Jeju United2023K League 119041—231Gangwon FC2024K League 135000—3502025K League 131020303602026K League 12300050280Total8902080990 Career total143081801591
International
+ Appearances and goals by national team and yearNational teamYearAppsGoalsSouth Korea202210202650Total60
Honours South Korea EAFF Championship runner-up: 2022
South Korea U23 Asian Games: 2026
Individual K League All-Star: 2026
Notes
References
External links