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 | 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 | 27 | (2) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2012–2013 | South Korea U20 | 5 | (0) |
| 2014–2015 | South Korea U23 | 6 | (0) |
| 2024– | South Korea | 10 | (0) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 21 July 2026 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 14 November 2025 | |||
| 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
Ulsan HD
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
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
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
- As of match played 21 July 2026[7]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Ulsan Hyundai/ 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 | — | — | — | 3 | 0 | |||
| Daejeon Hana Citizen | 2025 | K League 1 | 15 | 2 | — | — | — | — | 15 | 2 | ||||
| 2026 | K League 1 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 1[e] | 0 | 13 | 0 | ||
| Total | 27 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 28 | 2 | |||
| Career total | 236 | 3 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 38 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 294 | 5 | ||
Honours
Ulsan HD
Gimcheon Sangmu
Birmingham City
Individual
References
- ↑ 크로스가 약한 韓축구? 이명재의 왼발을 주목하라 post.naver.com
- ↑ "Blues complete signing of Myung-Jae Lee". Birmingham City F.C. 3 February 2025. Retrieved 3 February 2025.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) - ↑ 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
- LEE Myeongjae – K League stats at kleague.com (in Korean and English)
- 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)
- 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, 1990s birth stubs