Lee Jong-hyuk started out as a stage actor and then expanded his acting career into TV and films with a minor role in the 1999 blockbuster action film Shiri. In 2004, he appeared in the films Once Upon a Time in High School and Shinsukki Blues. In 2007, he starred opposite Han Ye-seul in the romantic comedy movie Miss Gold Digger. The following year, he acted alongside Chae Rim at Lee Jin-wook in the KBS2 series Rivals, which earned him an Excellence Award nomination at the KBS Drama Awards. In 2010, he played major roles in the KBS2 dramas Chuno and Marry Me, which scored him a Top Excellence Award nomination at the KBS Drama Awards. In 2012, he joined the main cast of the hit SBS romantic comedy A Gentleman’s Dignity, which won him a Special Acting Award at the SBS Drama Awards. In 2019, he made his Hollywood debut with a recurring role in the U.S. series Treadstone. In 2020, he was nominated for an Excellence Award at the SBS Drama Awards for the high-rating action-comedy Good Casting.

Lee Jong-hyuk attended the Seoul Institute of the Arts. He and his wife Choi Eun-ae have two sons together.