Lee Jung-myung has published the novels The Deep Rooted Tree, which depicts the little-known serial murders of the Jiphyeonjeon Hall scholars which lay behind the creation of Hangeul, and The Painter of the Wind, a mystery that unravels the secrets inside the paintings of Shin Yunbok and Gim Hongdo. He opened up a new chapter in Korean fiction, receiving an explosive response from readers for his fast-paced novels that include great period consciousness and in-depth intellectual quests. He also wrote The Investigation, which was nominated for the UK's Independent Foreign Fiction Prize in 2015 and won the Italy's Premio Selezione Bancarella, a literary award, in 2017, a first for a Korean. Other novels by Lee include After a Millennium, The Sunflower, The Last Picnic, and Memories of Evil.

Lee Jung-Myung opened a new chapter in Korean fiction, gaining an explosive response from readers, with fast-developing stories of deep intellectual inquiry. His novel, The Painter of Wind was adapted into a TV drama in 2008, and his novel Deep-rooted Tree was adapted into a miniseries that aired in 2011.

His novel, The Investigation (2012) became an instant bestseller upon its release and was translated and published in eleven countries including the United Kingdom. In 2018, he became the first South Korean writer to receive the Premio Selezione Bancarella, the most prestigious literary prize in Italy, for The Investigation.