Lee Hoe-taik (, born 11 October 1946) is a former South Korean football player and manager. He is one of four players inducted into the Korean FA Hall of Fame.
Early life Lee started his youth career late in high school, but showed a fast development. He was selected for the South Korea national team three years after beginning football in earnest. On 10 December 1966, Lee made his senior international debut against Thailand at the 1966 Asian Games.
Club career Lee joined Yangzee, founded by the Korean Central Intelligence Agency to develop the national team.
At the 1967 Merdeka Tournament, Lee scored three goals, contributing to the club's title.
Yangzee also participated at the 1969 Asian Champion Club Tournament. Lee scored a hat-trick in the first group match against Mysore State. Lee was injured during the third group match against Bangkok Bank, but provided an assist for the winning goal in the next match against Vietnam Police. Yangzee won all five matches until the semi-finals, but they lost 1–0 to Maccabi Tel Aviv after extra time in the final.
International career Lee scored three goals in five matches of the 1968 Summer Olympics qualification. South Korea failed to qualify for the Olympics on goal difference, although their points were tied with Japan, the group winners.
Lee was lethargic while South Korea was eliminated in the group stage of the 1970 FIFA World Cup qualification, but he provided an assist for the winning goal in each of three matches against Laos, Malaysia, and Indonesia while winning the 1969 King's Cup after the failure in World Cup qualifiers.
Lee maintained the upturn at the 1970 Merdeka Tournament, scoring winning goals in a group stage match against Singapore, a semi-final match against India, and the final against Burma. On 5 September 1970, he scored the opener in a friendly against Benfica, which ended in a 1–1 draw after Eusébio's penalty equaliser. At the 1970 King's Cup, he had a goal against Hong Kong and two assists against Malaysia, helping South Korea defend their title.
At the 1970 Asian Games, Lee made efforts to won a major title. He scored the winning goal in a group stage match against Iran, and provided assists for all two of South Korea's goals in the semi-final win over Japan. After defeating their biggest rivals, South Korea shared the gold with Burma by drawing 0–0 in the final. That year, he was evaluated as the largest contributor to the national team's success including three Asian titles, being named the Korean FA Most Valuable Player.
Lee also played for South Korea at the 1972 AFC Asian Cup. He scored the winning goal in a group stage match against Khmer Republic. In the final against Iran, he provided an assist for the equaliser, but his team lost 2–1 after extra time.
On 2 June 1972, Lee scored a goal in a 3–2 friendly defeat to Santos, for which Pelé was playing.
Style of play Lee was nicknamed the "Leopard" in South Korea due to his innate stamina, rapid pace, and powerful shots. He was also proficient in creating chances, giving many key passes to other forwards in the middle.
Managerial career Lee managed POSCO Atoms from 1987 to 1992 and won two K Leagues. Lee also managed the South Korea national team from 1988 to 1990. He finished runner-up at the 1988 AFC Asian Cup, and earned nine wins and two draws without a defeat at the 1990 FIFA World Cup qualification. However, he lost all three matches in the group stage of the 1990 FIFA World Cup, struggling at world-class level.
Administrative career Between 2005 and 2013, Lee worked as a vice-president at the Korea Football Association. Lee recommended Cho Kwang-rae as a new manager of the national team in 2010, but started coming into conflict with him, who became manager. Lee was criticised for interfering in selection of the national team players. Without Cho's agreement, Lee arbitrarily moved some of senior team players to the Olympic team, and forcibly used players in a charity match prior to their travel to the 2011 AFC Asian Cup. According to Cho's claim, Lee also shouted at Cho when watching a list of the squad, which did not include players he recommended.
In 2023, he was appointed technical director of Gimpo FC, an honorary position, and has received salary.
In July 2024, when Park Ji-sung and Park Joo-ho criticised the KFA for keeping away from foreign managers through unfair procedure after hearing that Hong Myung-bo was appointed manager of the national team, Lee appealed to people employed in football to trust Hong, and demanded the two men respect their seniors and keep in mind that they will similarly become executives later. Lee was criticised for his remarks by fans.
Career statistics International +Appearances and goals by national team and yearNational teamYearAppsGoalsSouth Korea196610196718819686219698119701851971921972112197481197730Career total8221 +Appearances and goals by competitionCompetitionAppsGoalsFriendlies80Minor competitions4214Asian Games122AFC Asian Cup qualification41AFC Asian Cup41Summer Olympics qualification63FIFA World Cup qualification60Total8221
Results list South Korea's goal tally first. +List of international goals scored by Lee Hoe-taikNo.DateVenue CapOpponentScoreResultCompetition15 August 1967Taipei, Republic of China41–07–01968 AFC Asian Cup qualification211 August 1967Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia63–13–11967 Pestabola Merdeka320 August 1967Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia91–03–01967 Pestabola Merdeka423 August 1967Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia103–13–11967 Pestabola Merdeka528 September 1967Tokyo, Japan123–14–21968 Summer Olympics qualification67 October 1967Tokyo, Japan151–23–31968 Summer Olympics qualification79 October 1967Tokyo, Japan16?–05–01968 Summer Olympics qualification812 November 1967Saigon, South Vietnam181–03–01967 South Vietnam Independence Cup912 August 1968Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia201–23–21968 Pestabola Merdeka1021 August 1968Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia232–12–11968 Pestabola Merdeka1121 November 1969Bangkok, Thailand312–02–01969 King's Cup124 August 1970Penang, Malaysia361–04–01970 Pestabola Merdeka1313 August 1970Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia393–23–21970 Pestabola Merdeka1416 August 1970Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia401–01–01970 Pestabola Merdeka1510 November 1970Bangkok, Thailand412–03–01970 King's Cup1611 December 1970Bangkok, Thailand461–01–01970 Asian Games179 May 1971Seoul, South Korea541–02–01971 Korea Cup182–01910 May 1972Bangkok, Thailand612–04–11972 AFC Asian Cup2023 July 1972Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia681–02–01972 Pestabola Merdeka2113 September 1974Tehran, Iran781–12–31974 Asian Games
Honours Player Yangzee Korean National Championship: 1968 Korean President's Cup: 1968 Asian Champion Club Tournament runner-up: 1969
POSCO FC Korean National Semipro League (Spring): 1975 Korean National Championship runner-up: 1977 Korean President's Cup: 1974
South Korea Asian Games: 1970 AFC Asian Cup runner-up: 1972
Individual Korean FA Best XI: 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1974 Korean FA Most Valuable Player: 1970 Korean President's Cup Best Player: 1974 Korean FA Hall of Fame: 2005
Manager Hanyang University Korean National Championship: 1983
POSCO Atoms K League 1: 1988, 1992
South Korea AFC Asian Cup runner-up: 1988
Individual K League 1 Manager of the Year: 1988, 1992 K League All-Star: 2000
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