On the 2nd, Lee Dong-guk attended the dedication ceremony for the first inductees of the K-League Hall of Fame held at the Ambassador Pullman Grand Ballroom in Jangchung-dong, Seoul.
The K-League ㅋㅋㅋ벳Hall of Fame was established this year to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the K-League. Choi Soon-ho, Hong Myung-bo, Shin Tae-yong, and Lee Dong-guk were named as the first inductees.
Kim Jeong-nan, former manager of Ulsan Hyundai, was nominated for the leadership category, and Park Tae-joon, honorary chairman of POSCO (passed away in 2011), was nominated for the contributor category.
On this day, Lee Dong-guk, who was selected as one of the 6 first inductees, participated in the dedication ceremony to shine. It was only natural that Lee Dong-guk, who had played 547 games in the K-League alone and recorded 228 goals and 77 assists, ranked first in the all-time scoring list, would be listed in the Hall of Fame.
Lee Dong-guk, who made his debut in Pohang in 1998, played an active part in Seongnam Ilhwa (now Seongnam FC) and Jeonbuk, achieving 8 K-League championships, the most points and most attack points in K-League history, and the most appearances among field players.
Lee Dong-guk, who left a significant mark on the history of the K-League, received 40,957 votes in a vote to select one player for each generation for each decade, beating Lee Chun-soo (11,414 votes) by a wide margin and was selected as the 4th generation winner.
On this day, Lee Dong-guk’s recommendation was Choi Tae-wook, technical committee member of the Korea Professional Football Federation, who opened the door to the Jeonbuk Dynasty together in the past. Commissioner Choi congratulated Lee Dong-guk, saying, “I still can’t believe he is retiring.”
Lee Dong-guk, who attended the dedication ceremony, expressed his feelings in a pre-interview, saying, “I am very honored to be selected for an honorable position in commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the K-League.”
Above all, Lee Dong-guk was delighted with the fact that he was able to show a proud image to his son, Lee Si-an. Lee Si-an, who was born in 2014, had a hard time seeing his father in his prime as Lee Dong-guk retired in 2020.
Lee Dong-guk expressed his joy, “(Lee) Xian only watches me on YouTube. It feels good to be able to show (Xian) that I can stand in such a proud position as a soccer player.”
“It feels good to have come this far through football,” he added. “I thought I could tell my children later.”