Lee was born in 1890 during the 27th year of King Gojong's reign in Shinri, Jicheon-myeon, Chilgok County, North Gyeongsang Province. During the spring of 1908, Lee moved to Seoul where he attended Gyeongseong Law School. After graduating in 1912, he passed the judge's examination in 1913. In 1914, he became a judge and was appointed to the Miryang Branch of the Daegu District Court [ko].[1] He was appointed to the position of prosecutor in 1915 before returning to the Daegu District Court as a judge in 1920. In 1921, he was appointed to the Daegu Appellate Court [ko] and joined the Pyongyang Appellate Court in 1926. In 1927, he left the court and returned to Daegu to open a law firm.[2]
On November 9, 1947, Lee was named the first chief prosecutor for the Daegu High Prosecutors' Office [ko].[3] Lee was appointed the third minister of justice on May 22, 1950, and resigned on November 22, 1950.[1][4][5] Following the retirement of Chief Justice Kim Byung-ro [ko] in 1957, President Syngman Rhee unsuccessfully sought to have Lee appointed the next chief justice.[6]
Lee died February 1982 in Namgye-ri, Yakmok-myeon, Chilgok-gun.[1]