South Korea has earned multiple nominations at the annual Asian soccer awards, officials said Tuesday.

The Asian Football Confederation has informed the Korea Football Association that South Korea has placed candidates in six team and individual categories at the 2012 AFC Annual Awards, KFA officials said.

The men‘s Olympic team, open to players under age 23, is up for the Men’s National Team of the Year award. South Korea made the preliminary list earlier this month and survived the final cut.

It is up against Olympic teams from Japan and the United Arab Emirates.

South Korea beat Japan to win the bronze medal at the London Olympics in August for its first-ever Olympic medal. The UAE team was knocked out of the group stage with one draw and two losses.

South Korea won the AFC team award in 2002 and 2009. In November‘s FIFA rankings, South Korea is the second-highest Asian nation at 32nd, eight spots below Japan.

Ulsan Hyundai Tigers of South Korea’s K-League have been shortlisted for the AFC Club of the Year award.

Ulsan recently captured the AFC Champions League, the continent‘s premier club competition, beating Al Ahli of Saudi Arabia in the final. Al Ahli and Kuwait SC of Kuwait are the other nominees for the AFC award.

Two South Korean coaches are competing for the AFC Coach of the Year in the men’s category. Hong Myung-bo of the men‘s Olympic team and Kim Ho-gon of Ulsan are up against Norio Sasaki of Japan, who led the Japanese women’s team to the silver medal at the London Olympics.

The last South Korean coach to win the Asian honors was Huh Jung-moo in 2009.

Lee Keun-ho, a star forward for Ulsan, is up for Player of the Year. He made the preliminary list on Nov. 7 and is among five finalists, including Ali Karimi of Iran and Lucas Neill of Australia.

Lee was named the MVP of the AFC Champions League after registering four goals and seven assists in 12 games for Ulsan. He has also been a regular on the national team during the World Cup qualifying stages.

The last South Korean to win the player‘s award was Kim Joo-sung, who won three straight starting in 1989. It was first presented in 1988. (Yonhap News)