Jeonbuk Motors striker Lee Dong-gook won the K-League’s Most Valuable Player award Tuesday, beating out FC Seoul’s Dejan Damjanovic.

Lee was voted the 2011 MVP at the year-end ceremony at the Grand Hilton Hotel in Seoul. The 32-year-old striker received 86 out of 115 votes, while the FC Seoul striker garnered 14 votes, followed by Kwak Tae-hwi with 12 votes.

It was Lee’s second MVP in the past three years. He won the award in 2009, after helping Jeonbuk win its first league title.

Although he missed an important penalty kick during the championship final against Ulsan Sunday, Lee scored 16 goals in 29 games for Jeonbuk this season to help the team reclaim the K-League title.

The former national team striker Lee, who recorded 15 assists, bagged two other trophies Tuesday ― the Best Assist and the Best Forward award. He also won the majority of votes from K-League fans to claim the “FAN-tastic Player trophy.” 

Jeonbuk, which was voted as the best club, also produced the manager of the year as Choi Kang-hee claimed the honor.

Gwangju FC midfielder Lee Seung-ki, who scored eight goals and had two assists this season, received 57 votes to win Rookie of the Year, beating out FC Pohang forward Ko Mu-yeol with 48 votes.

Also, Ulsan’s Kim Young-kwang won Best GK, while Damjanovic, who scored 23 goals in 29 games, won the best scorer title.

Jeonbuk Motors striker Lee is undoubtedly one of the most successful footballers in the K-League. Since his debut in 1998, he has won numerous titles with the Pohang Steelers. And in his first year with Jeonbuk in 2009, he scored 22 goals to help the team win the league title.

Lee, who was the youngest player on Korea’s 1998 World Cup squad, however, never lived up to his billing on the international stage. He missed out the 2002 and 2006 World Cup.

Although he made it to the national team again in 2010, he missed a perfect chance to score and was blamed for the team’s 2-1 defeat against Uruguay in the round of 16.

“I’m so glad to be here,” said Lee after receiving the MVP award.

Lee admitted that he was not consistent throughout his career, saying: “I know I have a fairly large number of anti-fans.

“But I think I had a really good year, and hope that I can continue playing better next season.”

By Oh Kyu-wook (596story@heraldcorp.com)