Lee Young-pyo (Korean: 이영표; born 23 April 1977) is a South Korean football commentator, administrator and former professional footballer. Primarily a left-back or wing-back, he was known for his pace, stamina, intelligent positioning and step overs. Although right-footed, he also played at right-back and as a defensive midfielder.
Lee began his professional career with Anyang LG Cheetahs, winning the 2000 K League and being selected for the 2001 K League Best XI. He joined PSV Eindhoven under former South Korea manager Guus Hiddink in 2003, winning two Eredivisie titles and the 2004–05 KNVB Cup and helping PSV reach the semi-finals of the 2004–05 UEFA Champions League. He moved to Tottenham Hotspur in 2005 and later played for Borussia Dortmund, Al-Hilal and Vancouver Whitecaps FC, retiring in 2013. He was part of Tottenham's 2007–08 Football League Cup-winning squad, won two Saudi Pro League titles with Al-Hilal and was voted Vancouver's Player of the Year in 2012.
Between 1999 and 2011, Lee earned 127 caps and scored five goals for the South Korea national team. He appeared at three FIFA World Cups and helped South Korea finish fourth as co-hosts in 2002, providing the assists for the winning goals against Portugal in the group stage and Italy in the round of 16. He also helped South Korea finish third at the 2000 and 2011 AFC Asian Cups.
After retiring as a player, Lee became a football commentator for KBS, with his forecasts during the 2014 FIFA World Cup earning him the nickname "Octopus Young-pyo". He was chief executive of Gangwon FC from 2021 to 2022 and as a vice-president of the Korea Football Association from 2021 to 2023, and was appointed an outside director of Ulsan HD FC in 2026.
Lee was born on 23 April 1977 in Changchon-ri, Nae-myeon, Hongcheon, Gangwon Province. He attended Changchon Elementary School through the second grade before his family moved to Anyang in 1985. At Anyang Elementary School, Lee competed in athletics and placed eighth in a Gyeonggi Province elementary short-distance marathon while in the third grade. The following year, a football coach who had noticed his speed invited him to join the school team. Lee later recalled choosing football because he preferred the prospect of playing a team sport to running alone.
Lee continued his education at Anyang Middle School and Anyang Technical High School, playing as a striker throughout his school career. In July 1995, as a third-year student, he scored his team's second goal in Anyang Technical High's 2–0 victory over Jaehyun High School in the final of the 14th KBS Cup autumn high-school tournament and was named the tournament's most valuable player. The following month, he helped Anyang Technical High win the Baengnokgi national high-school tournament. Shortly before entering university, Lee suffered a serious knee injury and consequently did not represent South Korea at under-20 or younger levels.
Lee entered Konkuk University in 1996, where he studied political science and played for the university football team for four years. Although he had previously played as a striker, Konkuk coach Jeong Jong-deok converted him to left wing-back, believing that the position would make the best use of his dribbling ability. Lee remained in the position throughout his four years at Konkuk.
On 3 December 1999, Anyang LG Cheetahs selected Lee, then at Konkuk University, with the first overall pick of the 2000 K League draft. Manager Cho Kwang-rae initially restricted him to the left flank but later used him as an attack-minded wing-back, allowing him to move into central midfield and forward areas. His frequent national-team commitments limited him to 18 domestic appearances. He nevertheless scored twice, registering his first professional goal in a 2–1 victory over Daejeon Citizen on 5 July and the winning goal against Bucheon SK seven days later. Lee appeared in both matches of the championship series against Bucheon as Anyang claimed its first league title in ten years. He finished runner-up to Yang Hyun-jung for the K League Rookie of the Year award.
In 2001, Lee made 22 league appearances as the defending champions finished second, two points behind Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma. He was subsequently selected as a defender in the K League Best XI. After a national-team training camp ended, Lee flew to Tehran in April 2002 and played every minute of Anyang’s semi-final and final in the 2001–02 Asian Club Championship. Anyang defeated hosts Esteghlal 2–1 in the semi-final, but played most of the final with ten men following André’s first-half dismissal and lost 4–2 on penalties to Suwon Samsung Bluewings after a goalless draw.
After returning from the 2002 FIFA World Cup, Lee recorded one goal and five assists in 23 league appearances as Anyang finished fourth in 2002. During a league match at Bucheon on 21 July, Lee was involved in a late altercation with veteran defender Lee Lim-saeng, who struck him after believing that Lee had deliberately stepped on him during a challenge. Lee bowed in apology on the field, while Lim subsequently accepted full responsibility and apologised by telephone; although footage of the incident circulated widely, Lee said in 2019 that the two had remained close and described the episode as widely misunderstood.
Following the 2002 season, PSV Eindhoven head coach and former South Korea manager Guus Hiddink contacted Lee about joining the Dutch club. Lee later recalled that, before PSV's approach, he had not received an offer from a European club and had rejected one from an unnamed J.League club because he feared that moving to Japan would end his hopes of playing in Europe. On 8 January 2003, Anyang announced an agreement to loan Lee to PSV for six months for a reported US$300,000, with a US$1.7 million fee if PSV made the transfer permanent.
Lee made his Eredivisie debut for PSV on 15 February 2003, coming on at half-time and playing at left-back in a 6–0 home victory over FC Zwolle. He started each of PSV's remaining 14 league matches that season. On his 26th birthday, 23 April, PSV announced that his six-month loan would become a permanent three-year contract beginning on 1 July. PSV clinched the 2002–03 Eredivisie title on the final day of the season, making Lee and Park Ji-sung the first South Korean footballers to win a European top-flight league title.
Lee remained PSV's first-choice left-back during the 2003–04 season, starting 32 of the club's 34 league matches. PSV opened the season by defeating FC Utrecht 3–1 in the 2003 Johan Cruyff Shield and later reached the 2003–04 UEFA Cup quarter-finals, where they were eliminated 3–2 on aggregate by Newcastle United.
Lee's most productive PSV season came in 2004–05. On 24 October 2004, he scored his only goal for the club to open a 2–0 victory over Ajax, before crossing for John de Jong to head in the second goal. He recorded one goal and ten assists in 31 league appearances, completing every minute of each of those matches. In April 2005, Voetbal International wrote that Lee covered the entire left flank and was second only to Mark van Bommel in assists for PSV at that point, referring to him as the Eredivisie's best left-back that season. Lee played the full match as PSV defeated Willem II 4–0 in the 2005 KNVB Cup final, completing the club's first league-and-cup double in 16 seasons.
Lee also appeared in all 14 of PSV's Champions League matches, including qualifying. PSV advanced beyond the Champions League group stage for the first time and ultimately reached the semi-finals, where Lee and Park became the first South Korean players to appear at that stage of the competition. In the second leg of the semi-final against AC Milan, Hiddink switched to a three-man defence and pushed Lee farther forward on the left. Lee reached the byline and crossed for Phillip Cocu to put PSV 2–0 ahead on the night and level the tie on aggregate. PSV eventually won 3–1, but Massimo Ambrosini's stoppage-time away goal sent Milan through on the away-goals rule with the aggregate score tied at 3–3.