A submarine-style pitcher,[2] he played 16 seasons in the KBO League, mostly for the Haitai/Kia Tigers.
[citation needed] He was the Most Valuable Player of the 1996 Korean Series, which the Tigers won 4-games-to-2 over the Hyundai Unicorns.
[citation needed] Lee sat out the 1999 season and returned to the KBO in 2000 with the Samsung Lions.
During the 2004 season, Lee broke Sun Dong-yol's career KBO strikeout record of 1,698, but Lee's total was surpassed later that season by current KBO career strikeout king Song Jin-woo.
[2] Lee led the young club to its first .500 record in his first year as manager.