FC Seoul In 2003,
FC Seoul, then known as Anyang LG Cheetahs in its modern incarnation, then manager
Cho Kwang-rae began focusing on developing a
youth academy within the team. Lee, who, at the time, was attending Dobong Middle School caught the eye of a scout and manager Cho decided to attend his match. After watching only the first half, he was certain Lee had a massive potential, and decided to sign him on the spot. Subsequently, Lee dropped out of the school and joined FC Seoul. Dropping out of middle school could mean a lot later in his life since Korea does not draft middle school dropouts for its military.
FC Seoul at the time signed a handful of youngsters this way, with the most prominent ones being Lee Chung-yong himself,
Ko Yo-han,
Koh Myong-jin and
Song Jin-hyung. He was a
substitute in the
2004 League Cup, In 2006, he debuted in the
K League. For the next several years, Lee honed his skills in the FC Seoul reserves alongside close friend and international teammate
Ki Sung-yueng. In 2007,
Şenol Güneş, famous for coaching the third-placed Turkey national squad in the
2002 FIFA World Cup, joined FC Seoul as manager. After watching the youngsters
Koh Myong-jin,
Ki Sung-yueng and Lee Chung-yong carefully, he recognized the players' significant abilities and aimed to use them as important elements in the FC Seoul first team. That season, Lee Chung-yong began to break into the first team, playing in 15 league matches and scoring three goals. The following year, in 2008, he cemented his place as a regular for FC Seoul, playing 22 league matches, scoring five goals. Both he and Ki Sung-yong won many domestic league fans for their link-up play and individual qualities so much so that they were both given the affectionate moniker "Ssang Yong" or "Double Dragon", a play on their given names. In the 2009 season, Lee continued his good form and he completed a hat-trick of assists in the opening game of the season against
Chunnam Dragons on 7 March 2009. On 4 April 2009, he scored the winning goal in a match against Seoul's fierce rival,
Suwon Samsung Bluewings.
Bolton Wanderers in 2013 FC Seoul confirmed that Lee Chung-yong had agreed a deal to join
Premier League side
Bolton Wanderers. A statement from FC Seoul said: "The contract will be signed officially after a work permit is issued." On 29 July 2009, it was announced that he had been granted a work permit allowing him to complete a £2.2 million transfer from FC Seoul. He had already agreed personal terms on a three-year contract with Bolton the previous week and also underwent a successful medical. The transfer was officially confirmed on 14 August 2009, Lee was reported as stating "I am looking forward to this new chapter in my career and cannot wait to play my first game for my new club." With
Gary Megson's dismissal in December 2009, he became his last full signing for the club. He made his first Bolton appearance on 15 August 2009 when coming on as a substitute for
Gavin McCann in the 1–0 defeat against
Sunderland at the
Reebok Stadium and scored his first goal, the winning goal of the match in a 2–1 victory against
Birmingham City on 26 September. He was named
Man of the Match in the match against
Tottenham Hotspur, providing teammate
Ricardo Gardner with an assist. As a result of these good performances, Lee was named in the ESPN Soccernet Team of the Week twice in a row. His good form in his first season continued weeks later, after the international break, as he assisted Ivan Klasnic's first goal in the 3–3 draw against
Manchester City at the
Reebok Stadium. He was consequently named 'Man of the Match' by Sky Sports for his significant attacking presence and dribbling prowess: "The South Korean was a constant thorn in City's side and looks to be a real find for Gary Megson." At the end of his first season, Lee won a triumvirate of awards including Bolton Player of the Year, Players' Player of the Year, and best newcomer awards. There was interest from
Liverpool after the
2010 FIFA World Cup, but Lee stated that it was likely that he would remain at
Bolton for the 2010–11 Premier League, and on 25 November he signed an extension to his contract, keeping him at the club until 2013. During a pre-season friendly against
Newport County on 30 July 2011, Lee suffered a broken leg after a challenge from
Tom Miller. It was initially reported that the injury would rule Lee out for a minimum of nine months, but by early September, Bolton were hopeful that the player would return before the end of the season. Towards the end of April 2012, Lee started training with the Bolton first team again and was hopeful of playing a game or two before the season concluded. On 4 May 2012, manager Owen Coyle ruled out a return for Lee that season, but just two days later Lee returned to action as a second-half substitute for
Martin Petrov in Bolton's 2–2 draw with
West Bromwich Albion, and received a standing ovation from the home crowd. On 29 May 2012 it was confirmed that Lee had signed an unannounced new contract the previous summer, extending his stay at the Reebok to the end of the 2014–15 season. Every game Lee had scored in for Bolton, Bolton had won. This streak was broken however on 27 October 2012 as Bolton lost 2–1 to
Middlesbrough with Bolton's goal coming from Lee. In the
2012–13 season, Lee was eased back into the first-team fold as he worked his way back to full fitness. After such a serious injury, it took Lee several months to regain the sharpness that he had displayed in his first two seasons with the club. However, during the second half of the season, Lee appeared to be getting closer to the form which marked him out as one of South Korea's top footballing talents. He finished the season with a respectable return of four goals and seven assists in the Championship. Lee remained in the Championship with Bolton for the
2013–14 season. He scored in each of the last two games of the season as Bolton finished 14th in the table.
Crystal Palace in 2016 On 2 February 2015, transfer deadline day, Lee signed for
Premier League side
Crystal Palace for an undisclosed fee with
Barry Bannan going the other way on loan. Lee's contract ran until June 2018. He scored his first goal for the club against
Shrewsbury Town in the
League Cup on 25 August 2015. He scored his first league goal for Palace with a 30-yard volley at the 90th minute to defeat
Stoke City 2–1 on 19 December 2015. In June 2018, Lee was released by Crystal Palace on the expiry of his contract. Bolton attempted to re-sign their former player, but Lee failed to get a work permit, cancelling the move. This was the second time in 2018 Bolton had failed to sign Lee, as in February he had agreed to join on loan, only for Crystal Palace
director of football,
Dougie Freedman (who previously managed Bolton whilst Lee played there) to cancel the loan deal after it had been agreed, due to an injury to
Bakary Sako. Lee was packing to travel to Bolton when informed of this.
VfL Bochum On 6 September 2018, Lee signed for
2. Bundesliga side
VfL Bochum on a contract until the end of the 2018–19 season with an option for extension thereafter. He scored a goal and provided six assists during 23 appearances in the
2018–19 2. Bundesliga. The German football magazine
kicker gave him the 26th-highest score in its statistics about all 2. Bundesliga players.
Ulsan HD On 4 March 2020, Lee signed for
K League 1 club Ulsan Hyundai (renamed
Ulsan HD in 2024). Since moving to Ulsan HD, he helped his team win three consecutive league titles from 2022 to 2024 and an
AFC Champions League title in
2020. Especially, he received the
K League Most Valuable Player Award for the first time in
2022. He and other veteran players were in conflict with Shin, and their conflict was followed by danger of the club's relegation. In the first match after Shin was sacked, he scored a penalty goal and showed a controversial goal celebration to taunt Shin. Defending champions Ulsan avoided relegation by finishing ninth among twelve clubs, but did not extend their contract with him. ==International career==