Lee Geum-min (, or ; born 7 April 1994) is a South Korean professional footballer who plays as a forward for Women's Super League club Birmingham City and the South Korea women's national team. She has previously played for Seoul City, Gyeongju KHNP, Manchester City and Brighton & Hove Albion.

Club career Seoul WFC On 4 November 2014, Lee was drafted first overall by Seoul WFC. She made 18 appearances in the 2015 season, with six goals and two assists. The following season, she scored nine goals and registered four assists in 18 appearances. In her final season with Seoul, Lee scored eleven goals and had six assists in 21 appearances.

Gyeongju KHNP In 2018, Lee joined Gyeongju KHNP. On 23 April 2018, she made her debut in a 0–0 draw with Incheon Hyundai Steel Red Angels. On 14 May 2018, she scored twice in a 3–0 away victory against Changnyeong WFC. In her final game for Gyeongju KHNP, Lee scored a hat-trick as her team won 3–0 away at Boeun Sangmu, having previously scored two goals in the previous match, her last at home, a 5–2 win over Suwon UDC.

Manchester City On 7 August 2019, Manchester City announced they had signed Lee on a two-year contract. She made her Women's Super League (WSL) debut on 7 September 2019, coming on as a second-half substitute against Manchester United at the Etihad Stadium; the match broke the league's attendance record at 31,213. Lee made her UEFA Women's Champions League debut and first City start in a 7–1 away win against Swiss team FF Lugano 1976 on 12 September 2019. She scored her first goal for Manchester City on 12 October 2019, coming on as a late substitute at home to Birmingham City to seal a 3–0 victory.

Loan to Brighton & Hove Albion On 24 July 2020, it was announced that Lee had joined WSL team Brighton & Hove Albion on loan for the 2020–21 season with head coach Hope Powell describing the signing as "a real coup." She made her debut for Brighton in the season opener, a 2–0 home win against Birmingham City on 6 September 2020. Lee made her FA Cup debut on 27 September 2020, starting in Brighton's quarter-final also against Birmingham City.

On 7 February 2021, Lee was part of the Brighton team that ended Chelsea's 33-match unbeaten run with a 2–1 victory for the Seagulls. Her first goal for Brighton, a header, came in the away fixture at Reading on 2 May 2021. Her second, a long-range hit, came just a minute later when she intercepted the ball from Reading's kick-off. The strike was described as an contender for WSL goal of the season. Lee then went on to score in Brighton's next fixture, an end-of-season game at home to Bristol.

Brighton & Hove Albion Lee transferred permanently to Brighton from Manchester City in August 2021. She scored for Albion in their 2021–22 season opener against West Ham United on 5 September 2021. It was her fourth goal in her last three WSL games, including the final two matches of the previous season.

Birmingham City In September 2024, Lee joined Women's Championship club Birmingham City on a two-year permanent deal for an undisclosed fee, subject to league and visa approval.

International career Lee was a member of the under-16 team that won the 2009 AFC U-16 Women's Championship and was in the under-17 team that claimed the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup the following year. She made two appearances at the 2011 AFC U-19 Women's Championship, scoring two goals against Australia in a 4–2 win. In 2013, she helped South Korea win the 2013 AFC U-19 Women's Championship and qualify for the 2014 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup. Lee was selected by South Korea for the 2015 Women's World Cup and the 2019 Women's World Cup.

Career statistics

Club

+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational cupLeague cupContinentalTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsManchester City2019–20Women's Super League3100203081Brighton & Hove Albion (loan)2020–21Women's Super League1731020—203Brighton & Hove Albion2021–22Women's Super League1621020—1922022–23Women's Super League2233231—2862023–24Women's Super League2023030—262Total5877281007310Birmingham City2024–25Women's Championship1540010—1642025–26Women's Super League 21102100—131Total264211000295Career total104151031313013019

International

+ Appearances and goals by national team and yearNational teamYearAppsGoalsSouth Korea2013412015902016862017942018133201911220202020218220221122023117202440202590202620Total10127

Scores and results list South Korea's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Lee goal.

+ List of international goals scored by Lee Guen-min No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition16 March 2013Tasos Markou Stadium, Paralimni, Cyprus2–02–02013 Cyprus Women's Cup29 March 2016Nagai Stadium, Osaka, Japan3–04–02016 Olympic Games qualification38 November 2016Hong Kong Football Club Stadium, Hong Kong10–013–02017 EAFF Women's East Asian Cup qualification411 November 2016Hong Kong Football Club Stadium, Hong Kong1–014–02017 EAFF Women's East Asian Cup qualification511–02017 EAFF Women's East Asian Cup qualification612–02017 EAFF Women's East Asian Cup qualification714 November 2016Hong Kong Football Club Stadium, Hong Kong4–09–02017 EAFF Women's East Asian Cup qualification85 April 2017Kim Il-sung Stadium, Pyongyang, North Korea3–010–02018 AFC Women's Asian Cup qualification94–02018 AFC Women's Asian Cup qualification107–02018 AFC Women's Asian Cup qualification119 April 2017Kim Il-sung Stadium, Pyongyang, North Korea5–06–02018 AFC Women's Asian Cup qualification12 13 April 2018 King Abdullah II Stadium, Amman, Jordan 2–0 4–0 2018 AFC Women's Asian Cup1324 August 2018Gelora Sriwijaya Stadium, Palembang, Indonesia3–05–02018 Asian Games1431 August 2018Gelora Sriwijaya Stadium, Palembang, Indonesia2–04–02018 Asian Games1517 January 2019Wuhua County Olympic Sports Centre, Meizhou, China3–03–02019 Four Nations Tournament166 April 2019Yongin Mireu Stadium, Yongin, South Korea2–22–3Friendly1717 September 2021Pakhtakor Stadium, Tashkent, Uzbekistan3–012–02022 AFC Women's Asian Cup qualification18 6–0 1924 January 2022Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex, Pune, India1–0 2–02022 AFC Women's Asian Cup20 9 April 2022 Goyang Stadium, Goyang, South Korea 3–0 3–0 Friendly21 19 February 2023 Coventry Building Society Arena, Coventry, England 1–0 1–2 2023 Arnold Clark Cup22 7 April 2023 Suwon World Cup Stadium, Suwon, South Korea 2–2 5–2 Friendly23 3–224 11 April 2023 Yongin Mireu Stadium, Yongin, South Korea 1–0 5–0 Friendly25 3–026 4–027 26 October 2023 Xiamen Egret Stadium, Xiamen, China 8–0 10–1 2024 Olympic Games qualification

Honours Birmingham City Women's Super League 2: 2025–26

South Korea AFC U-16 Women's Championship: 2009 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup: 2010 AFC U-19 Women's Championship: 2013

References

External links

Lee Geum-min at the Korea Football Association (KFA) Lee Geum-min at the Korea Women's Football Federation (KWFF)