Lee worked as a fashion model before being discovered by Jeong Young-beom, the CEO of talent agency Star J Entertainment. He made his acting debut in the 1998 sitcom Soonpoong Clinic, and has since appeared in many television dramas, including Two Outs in the Ninth Inning, Love Story in Harvard, The Fugitive: Plan B, and A Hundred Year Legacy.

Lee also starred in the films Once Upon a Time in High School, Mapado, Troubleshooter, Eun-ha , and most notably Pietà, for which he received the prestigious Okgwan Order of Cultural Merit.

From 2009 to 2011, Lee was a cast member of the popular variety show segment Qualifications of Men on KBS2’s Happy Sunday.