Lee and Kim Jae-duck formed a dance crew called "Quicksilver’" in their hometown of Busan, and was selected as a trainee in Lee Juno's company. Lee Juno was famous as Seo Taiji and Boys' member. At that time Lee Ho-yeon, Daesung Entertainment's CEO, asked him to recommend a idol group member. That is how he became a Sechs Kies' member. In 2016, Kang Sung-hoon said that he had watched the audition tape and chosen Lee as a member for his superior dancing skill and good looks. Lee debuted as a member of Sechs Kies, signed under Daesung Entertainment, in 1997. Along with Kim Jae-duck, he created the choreography for most of Sechs Kies' music videos. Sechs Kies achieved great success and became an icon of the 1990sKorean idol groups. However, Sechs Kies suddenly disbanded in 2000 after finishing their fourth album's promotion.
2000–2016: Solo career and other endeavors
After Sechs Kies' disbandment, Lee was the third member from the group to begin a solo career. He released his first album, entitled S.Wing with a hit song "Double J" in 2001. He released the following album, 002 J2 with a title song "Go Back" in 2003. However, it failed to see a great success compared to when he was performing as Sechs Kies. After three years of hiatus, he subsequently released his third album, entitled It's New with the hit song "Charge" in 2005. Lee began his mandatory military service in 2006. After being released from the military, Lee withdrew from the entertainment industry and went to study in Japan. In 2011, Lee participated in Big Bang's Special Edition album, drawing illustrations for the five members. In 2013, Lee co-operated with his brother-in-law to open a new restaurant, School Food, in a YG Entertainment-owned building. In 2015 and 2016, he participated in group exhibitions, 상상연대 2 and 상상연대 3, in GALERIE GAIA under his pseudonym 한조.
2016: Sechs Kies reunion
In 2016, Lee and his former Sechs Kies bandmates, except Ko Ji-yong, reunited on Infinite Challenge. All members, except Ko, signed a contract with YG Entertainment as a band, while Lee and Kang Sung-hoon also signed as solo artists. On August 19, Lee joined SBS's variety show Flower Crew with Eun Ji-won, however, withdrew from the show to focus on group promotions.
Personal life
Family
Lee's father died in 2006, due to pancreatic cancer, and his mother died in 2008. Lee's sister, former SWI.T member Lee Eun-ju, is married to Yang Hyun-suk, founder of YG Entertainment. The couple married in March 2010, and their daughter was born in August the same year.
Military
In 2006, he worked in a game development company as a skilled industry personnel to fulfill his mandatory military service. This was later cancelled by the Military Manpower Administration, on the grounds of working in web design rather than designated fields, such as information processing or game software development. He went to court to appeal this decision but lost the case. As a result, Lee entered the military again on August 25, 2008. While serving, he was treated for psychiatric issues because of his parents' death. He was granted four days' leave on March 2, 2009; however, he later failed to report back, and cut off all contact with family and friends. On April 8, 2009, he was found by military police investigators in a Daegu motel, located in his parents' hometown. He was sentenced to two years of probation that following June. After the trial, Lee was sent back to his unit and had to serve extra days to remedy for the period he went missing. On August 10, 2010, Lee was discharged.
