Lee Sung-jae (; born August 23, 1970) is a South Korean actor. Among his notable works include the films Art Museum by the Zoo (1998), Attack the Gas Station (1999), Kick the Moon (2001), and Public Enemy (2002), as well as the television series Gu Family Book (2013).
Career Lee in a short period rose to become one of the more versatile and popular actors in Korean cinema. After working for a time on TV (his debut was the MBC drama The Love of Two Women), he launched his film career with the romantic comedy Art Museum by the Zoo opposite superstar Shim Eun-ha. The success of this movie gave him considerable attention and led to him being offered many more roles.
After starring in Ghost in Love opposite Kim Hee-sun, Lee rose to prominence as the leader of a small group of thugs in one of the biggest box-office hits of the late 1990s, Kim Sang-jin's smash comedy Attack the Gas Station. Shortly thereafter he took a role in a very different kind of film, the accomplished black comedy Barking Dogs Never Bite, and his portrayal of a dog-hating lecturer who desperately wants to become a professor received good reviews.
In 2001, Lee acted opposite Ko So-young in A Day, a drama about a young married couple who wish to have a baby; he then appeared alongside Cha Seung-won and Kim Hye-soo in Kick the Moon, another wildly popular comedy by Kim Sang-jin. Lee also had a memorable turn as the villain in Public Enemy, a hugely successful film by hit director and Cinema Service founder Kang Woo-suk.
In 2004, Lee portrayed a mountain climber in the big-budget adventure/melodrama Ice Rain, which was shot in the Canadian Rockies, then played a ballroom dancer in Dance with the Wind, Park Jung-woo's directorial debut (Park wrote the screenplay for many of Kim Sang-jin's films). Other notable roles include real-life fugitive Ji Kang-hun in 2006's Holiday, and a sculptor in 2010 3D erotic film Natalie.
Among the television series he's starred in include 2008 romantic comedy Lawyers of the Great Republic of Korea, and 2012 hit cable drama How Long I've Kissed.
Filmography
Film YearTitleRoleNotes1998Art Museum by the ZooChul-su1999 Ghost in LoveKantoratesAttack the Gas StationNo Mark2000 Barking Dogs Never BiteGo Yoon-joo2001A DaySeok-yoonKick the MoonPark Young-jun2002Public EnemyJo Kyu-hwan2004Ice RainKang Joong-hyunDance with the WindPark Pung-shikShinsukki BluesShin Suk-ki2005HolidayJi Kang-heon2006DaisyJeong Woo2007 The Mafia, The SalesmanGye Doo-Sik2010 Dreams Come True1st Squad LeaderNatalieHwang Jun-Hyuk2011Song of Dreams U-Reuk2018Human, Space, Time and HumanPolitician2022CarterKim Jong-hyukNetflix Film
Television Year Title Role Notes 1995 The Love of Two Women 1997 Yesterday Yoon Min-soo1998 Beyond the Horizon Lie Suh Joon-hee 2006 Stranger than Paradise No Yoon-jae 2008 Lawyers of the Great Republic of Korea Han Min Gook 2011 Poseidon Kwon Jung-ryool2012 How Long I've Kissed Kim Tae-oh The Sons Yoo Hyun-ki 2013 Gu Family Book Jo Gwan-woong The Suspicious Housekeeper Eun Sang-chul 2014 The King's Face King Seonjo 2015 Warm and Cozy Song Jung-geun 2016 Secret Healer Choi Hyun-seo 2016 Don't Dare to Dream Kim Rak 2018 Goodbye to Goodbye Han Sang-jin 2019 Abyss Oh Yeong-cheol Diary of a Prosecutor Jo Min-ho 2021–2022 Show Window: The Queen's House Shin Myung-seob 2022–2023 Red Balloon Ji Nam-cheol 2025The Art of Negotiation
Variety shows YearTitleRoleNotes2013I Live AloneCast memberEp. 1-372015Law of the Jungle in Indochina2016Flower Crew
Awards YearAward ceremonyCategoryNominee(s) / Work(s)Result199935th Baeksang Arts AwardBest New ActorArt Museum by the Zoo 19th Korean Association of Film Critics Award 7th Chunsa Film Art Awards 36th Grand Bell Awards 20th Blue Dragon Film Awards 200036th Baeksang Arts AwardsPopularity AwardAttack the Gas Station
References
External links Lee Sung-jae at Koom Entertainment