[1] Lee's early work examined rainfall patterns[3] and modeling of the Asian-Australian monsoon.
[4] She subsequently examined seasonal predictions within coupled ocean-atmosphere models,[5] with a particular focus on seasonal oscillations and the impact on the Asian summer monsoon.
[7] In 2021, she was the coordinating lead author for Working Group I, chapter 4 of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
[9] in 2020 she received the 30th Science and Technology Award from the Korean Federation of Science and Technology Society,[10] in recognition of her paper on the 2016 heat wave in Korea.
[11] In 2021 she was named scientist of the year by the Korean Science Journalists Association.