In the coming years he would appear in four films, taking lead roles in his acting debut Excellent Guys and in romantic comedy Only with You with Seo Mi-kyung, a young star of the time.

In the late 1990s and early 2000s he attained a certain degree of visibility in TV dramas such as The Moon of Seoul (1994, with Han Suk-kyu and Choi Min-sik) and Jang Hui-bin (2002, with Kim Hye-soo).

[4][5] In 2003, however, Baek's career was revived in spectacular fashion with a major role in Jang Joon-hwan's acclaimed debut feature Save the Green Planet!.

[4][6] Following on this success, Baek went on to appear in several more high-profile films, including a memorable role in Choi Dong-hoon's caper film The Big Swindle and a showstopping performance as intelligence chief Kim Jae-gyu in Im Sang-soo's controversial drama The President's Last Bang.

Of these four, Choi Dong-hoon's Tazza: The High Rollers proved to be a runaway hit, selling close to 7 million tickets.