Despite the album being banned by all major TV broadcast stations for its 19+ content, his songs still managed to top several charts.

His nickname in middle school was "Gae" (meaning "dog" in Korean), which he adapted to become his stage name, after deciding between "gaemi" (ant) and "Gary".

[7] Gary revealed that he participated in a dance competition and actually won, defeating other competitors, Jang Woo Hyuk and Moon Hee Jun, who eventually became members of H.O.T.

[11][full citation needed] In 1997, Gary joined X-Teen, a hip-hop group where he met his future Leessang partner, Gil.

Gary took part of the responsibility for the break up of the group by stating that he "started feeling like a celebrity" after their initial success.

[13] Gary, Gil, and fellow Honey Family member Diggity decided to form "Leessam Trio" ("sam" means "three" in Korean).

Their last three albums, Hexagonal, Asura Balbalta, and Unplugged broke numerous records and guided their entry to the mainstream Korean music industry.

][16] The title song from Asura Balbalta, "Turn Off the TV" managed to stay at the top of the Melon chart for 25 days in a row.

[13] In 2010, Gary joined Running Man, an urban variety show, as a co-host, along with 6 other original cast members, including Yoo Jae-suk, Haha, Ji Suk-jin, Kim Jong-kook, Lee Kwang-soo and Song Joong-ki while the only female member, Song Ji-hyo, joined the cast a few episodes afterward.

[17] In October 2016, the producers of Running Man announced the departure of Gary, who wanted to focus on his music career after being a regular member for a little over six years.

Despite the ban, Gary's title track "Shower Later" clenched the number 1 spot on 8 real-time music charts.

A music video was released on the same day, featuring actress and fellow castmate of Running Man, Song Ji-hyo.

On January 6, 2020, KBS announced that Gary would be joining the cast of The Return of Superman after a three-year broadcasting hiatus.