A Korean man's search for the football used in South Korea's historic win against Spain during the 2002 World Cup comes to an end.

Lee Jae-Hyung had been searching for the famous football for four years.

A referee of the quarter-final match, Egyptian Gamal Ghandour, kept the ball and considered it a prized possession.

Lee reportedly told Ghandour, "The ball will be an heirloom of your family to be handed down if you keep it... But it will be cherished permanently as a treasure of the whole country if it is in Korea."

Ghandour was convinced by the argument, and gave Lee the ball. He plans to donate it to the Korean Football Association, which will put it on permanent display.

South Korea's controversial win over Spain four years ago during a penalty shootout led them to the World Cup semi-finals. They lost the next round 1-0 to Germany.

Ghandour disallowed two "goals" by Spain, leading to a contested victory for South Korea.

Kim Gawn-hyuck of South Korean football magazine tells Reuters, "Each and every victory is important for South Korean football as we don't have that many yet."

He adds, "This ball was the one used when we beat Spain. That's why we were trying to get it back."