Choi then made a shift to more television roles, appearing in the historical fantasy series The Legend (2007), which was a ratings success.

His grandfather is Kang Hong-shik, who was an actor, film director, and singer active during the Japanese occupation period.

[6][7] After graduating from the Seoul Institute of the Arts, he debuted in 1986 in the film Son of God, playing the lead role.

[8] In 1990, he began to gain attention after playing poet Kim Young in the film Nambugun: North Korean Partisan in South Korea.

[9] He would continue to establish his popularity as an actor with lead roles in the MBC dramas Humble Men[10] and A Mob House in 1991.

[12] During this time, Choi had a "tough guy" image from his debut role in Son of God, but the works that had garnered him mainstream popularity were comedy-orientated.

[17] Choi would continue to receive steady work, with some of his acting projects consisting of the films Blackjack in 1997[18] and Phantom, The Submarine in 1999.

[19][20] In 2000, he starred in the film Love Bakery, which received positive reviews, but performed poorly at the box office.

[26] In 2005, he portrayed General Choi in director Stanley Tong's Hong Kong film, The Myth, alongside Jackie Chan.

[28] After taking a nearly two year hiatus from acting due to his elderly assault scandal, Choi made his comeback in the SBS drama Father's House in 2009.

His Pride and Prejudice co-star Baek Jin-hee received the award on his behalf and delivered his speech: I am most thankful to MBC, director Kim Jin Man, and script writer Lee Hyun Joo for giving me the opportunity to participate in such a meaningful drama despite my old age.

This is the least I can do for society's conscience and hope lost in the deep, cold sea during the times of a failing law, lack of common sense, and loss of any morsel of truth.Choi's refusal of the award was due to his grief towards the Sewol ferry accident, which occurred on April 14 that year.

In 2017, he starred in the tvN romantic comedy series The Liar and His Lover, playing the role of Lee Hyun-woo's father, Kang In-woo.

[54] In 2018, he was cast in the tvN legal thriller Lawless Lawyer alongside Lee Joon-gi and Seo Yea-ji.

[61] On October 23, 2024, it was confirmed that Choi was set to appear in the upcoming MBC drama Motel California as Ji Chun-pil.

About a week later, Kang received a phone call from the pagent's producer, offering to take her on a tour of the Korean network MBC before she returned to Canada.

At the time, Choi was filming the MBC drama My Mother's Sea and ran into Kang by chance at the studio.

[67][68] In April 2008, Choi was involved in an assault case where a street-side argument escalated to physical violence, which resulted in him taking a voluntary leave from acting due to the public scandal.

Choi was dismissed by police when the victim declined to press charges, but the public reaction was swift and condemning.

The actor apologised profusely for his behavior and swore to live in exile in the mountains, away from his wife and children, for a year.

It was reported that the incident occurred after the producer had told Choi to be mindful of his frequent usage of vulgarities while filming.

[41] On January 31, 2019, it was reported that Choi was indicted without detention and would be going on trial for charges associated with an incident where he engaged in retaliatory driving on September 17, 2018.

Choi's legal representatives stated in the trial that after the other driver caused the collision, she did not take the appropriate safety measures to handle the incident and drove away.

She further accused him of using insulting language after the accident while they were trying to determine precisely what had happened, which Choi's side acknowledged had occurred.

[76] In the second trial held on September 4, 2019, the Seoul Southern District Court gave Choi a six-month prison term with a suspended sentence of two years probation.

In his final appearance outside the courtroom, Choi stated that he believed everything happens for a reason and that he would accept the decision with gratitude and move forward with better energy.