Though she started getting recognized by the public after the box-office success of anarchic comedy Attack the Gas Station (1999),[2] her first notable acting role was in controversial TV drama Blue Mist (2001), where she played a young woman in her 20s who becomes romantically involved with a married man in his 40s.

[6] Lee made a successful acting comeback in 2005, as the lead actress in period drama Fashion 70's, which she chose because she wanted to work with TV director Lee Jae-gyu (who had previously directed Damo), and because it was not a typical love story, but depicted a woman's success in life and career.

[5] In 2007, Lee played the titular character in hit medical drama/romance Surgeon Bong Dal-hee,[8] though her next series, melodrama Bad Love was less successful in the ratings.

[13][14] Afterwards she appeared in The King's Doctor (2012) about a Joseon-era veterinarian turned royal physician,[15] and Empire of Gold (2013) which revolved around a power struggle over a chaebol.

In contrast, she was cast in the only female starring role in Kang Woo-suk's Fists of Legend (2013), about middle-aged men who join a televised mixed martial arts tournament/reality show.