By Yoo Jee-ho

SEOUL, Aug. 9 (Yonhap) -- Following his debut for the Spanish club Atletico Madrid in Seoul on Sunday, South Korean international Lee Kang-in promised his fans he will try to keep getting better both as an athlete and a person.

Lee came on as a substitute in the 63rd minute in Atleti's 3-1 loss to Manchester City in preseason action at Seoul World Cup Stadium. The two clubs were invited to South Korea as part of the annual Coupang Play Series in late June and then Lee, one of South Korea's most beloved football players, joined the Spanish side about a month later.

Lee was not able to travel to Spain right away due to some administrative issues and it ended up creating a unique situation where a South Korean player made his first appearance for a foreign club in his native land.

"This was a really special occasion for me to play my first match with Atletico Madrid in front of so many fans in Korea," Lee said. "I would like to thank everyone for coming here despite the hot weather conditions. I have joined this great club at an important juncture of my career, and I will do my best to grow both as a player and a human being."

Lee, who spent the past three seasons with Paris Saint-Germain, began his professional career in Spain with Valencia CF. He also had a spell with RCD Mallorca prior to his French spell and is now returning to a more familiar environment.

"I have high expectations for myself this year," he said. "I am looking forward to this season. I am surrounded by great players here and I wanted to put on a good performance from my first day. I am sure our chemistry will get better as we keep playing together."

Lee said he will play in any position as long as he can help the club. The left-footed player has often thrived as the inverted right winger.

"Honestly, I am okay playing anywhere. No matter where I play, I just have to do my best to help the team," he said. "I only think about how I can best help the club, regardless of my position."

Lee then took a moment to ask his fans to support not just Atletico Madrid, but the South Korean national team.

Lee, who has been a mainstay for the Taegeuk Warriors for a few years, apologized for South Korea's elimination from the group stage at this year's FIFA World Cup. After South Korea finished with a win and two losses in Group A play, head coach Hong Myung-bo and Korea Football Association (KFA) President Chung Mong-gyu both resigned.

They also absorbed grilling from angry lawmakers at a recent parliamentary hearing, while police raided the KFA headquarters last week as part of a probe into circumstances surrounding Hong's appointment two years ago.

Also last week, it was belatedly revealed that the KFA had provided sexual entertainment for foreign referees before and after international matches in South Korea in 2011 and 2012, prompting the oft-criticized organization to issue a public apology.

"I feel bad about how the national team has been playing so poorly since before the World Cup and I am sorry," Lee said. "I will do my best to make more football fans happy and fall in love with the national team again.

"We all know Korean football is not in a good spot at the moment," Lee added. "But we players are trying to learn from our mistakes and bring joy to our fans, whether we play overseas or here in the K League. I hope people won't just look at the negative side of things and will also pay attention to more positive aspects."

jeeho@yna.co.kr

(END)

• Gemini, BTS collaboration on display at Las Vegas Sphere
• U.S. Marines stage live-fire drills involving FPV drones for 1st time in S. Korea
• Galaxy Z series logs 1.44 mln preorders in S. Korea, highest on record
• 'Spider-Man: Brand New Day' debuts atop weekend box office

• Christopher Nolan invites Korean audience to embark on cinematic adventure with 'The Odyssey'

• U.S. Marines stage live-fire drills involving FPV drones for 1st time in S. Korea

• (LEAD) Police raid Starbucks Korea over controversial promotional event
• Gemini, BTS collaboration on display at Las Vegas Sphere
• 'Spider-Man: Brand New Day' debuts atop weekend box office
• (URGENT) Army's 1st Corps commander relieved of duty over unloaded weapons directive: military