Pre-debut

Sungmin was born in the Hogae district of Anyang , Gyeonggi . He has a younger brother, Lee Sungjin. In 2001, he entered theSM Youth Best Contestand jointly won first place for the Best Outward Appearance award with future band mate Donghae . Together, they signed a contract with SM Entertainment and received training in singing, dancing, and acting.

Sungmin was placed in a project R&B group with Junsu and future band mate Eunhyuk . In 2002, along with Typhoon, Rose and Attack, the six of them made their first television appearance in a show calledHeejun vs. Kangta, Battle of the Century: Pop vs. Rock. Moon Hee Jun taught Typhoon, Rose and Attack on to sing rock while Sungmin, Xiah, and Eunhyuk were taught other singing techniques by Kangta . The six trainees separated a year later, then Typhoon, Rose, and Attack debuted as members of rock band TRAX . The trio separated when Junsu went on to debuted as a member of TVXQ .Then Sungmin and Eunhyuk joined ten other trainees and formed Super Junior 05, the first generation of rotational boy band Super Junior.

In 2005, before Super Junior's debut, he played young Kang Dong-shin in MBC dramaSisters of the Sea.

2005-2006: Debut with Super Junior

Sungmin officially debut as part of 12-member rotational groupSuper Junior 05on 6 November 2005 on SBS 's music programmeInkigayo, performing their first single, " TWINS (Knock Out) ".Their debut albumSuperJunior05 (Twins)was released a month later on 5 December 2005 and debuted at #3 on the monthly MIAK K-pop album charts.

In March 2006, SM Entertainment began to recruit new members for the next Super Junior generation. However, plans changed and the company declared a halt in forming future Super Junior generations. Following the addition of thirteenth member Kyuhyun , the group dropped the suffix "05" and became officially credited as Super Junior.The re-polished group's first CD single " U " was released on 7 June 2006, which was their most successful single until the release of " Sorry, Sorry " in March 2009.

Sungmin guest starred in SBS's Banjun Theatre dramaFinding Lost Timeand played Yoochun 's high school friend.

2007-2009: Acting and sub-groups

In February 2007, Sungmin was placed in sub-group trot -singing Super Junior-T .In July, Sungmin's took part with fellow Super Junior members inAttack on the Pin-Up Boys, a SM Pictures production. He played the role of a pretty school boy who gets attacked by an unknown criminal.He replaced band mate Kangin as one of the DJs atReckless Radio, with Girls' Generation members from June 2007 to July 2008.

In 2008, he became a member of sub-group Super Junior-Happy and participated in a short half-hour dramaSuper Junior Unbelievable Storywith Leeteuk . Sungmin played himself, a member of Super Junior-T who is constantly overshadowed by his members.

In 2009, he starred as male lead, Ro, in musicalAkillaat the Hanjeon Art Center in Seoul from 9 October to 8 November.

2010-present: DJ and musical

In 2010, Sungmin starred in the title role of musicalHong Gil Dong, alongside group mate Yesung who also played the historical figure Hong Gildong . It played at the Woori Financial Art Hall at the Olympic Park from 18 February 2010 for two months.

In October, Sungmin was one of 20 South Korean singers who recorded the theme song, "Let's Go", for the 2010 G-20 Seoul summit . He provided vocals along with labelmates Seohyun , Jonghyun and Luna .In December He starred in KBS dramaThe Presidentas Jang Sungmin, the ambitious son of Jang Il Joon the president.

In January 2011, he was placed in Mandopop sub-group Super Junior-M , as one of two new members along with Eunhyuk . Then spend the next few months promoting their third EPPerfectionin Taiwan and China. For July and August, Sungmin performed as male lead Daniel, rotating with Ahn Jae-wook , Um Ki Joon , and Lee Ji-hoon , in musicalJack the Ripperat Chungmu Arts Hall .

In 2012, Sungmin took part in We Got Married 's spin-off program with Sistar 's Hyorin called "Pit-a-Pat Shake" to air as a Lunar Year special.Sungmin along with band mate Ryeowook , took overSuper Junior's Kiss the Radio, when former DJs Leeteuk and Eunhyuk left due to their busy schedules. On 29 March 2012, Sungmin released his first solo digital single, "Oh Wa", the ending theme song for KBS sitcom,We Need a Fairy.

For the month of September 2012, Sungmin reprise his role of Daniel, with Ahn Jae-wook , in musicalJack the Ripperat Aoyama Theater in Tokyo, Japan.

Singles

Soundtrack contributions

Film

Television dramas

Variety shows

Musical theatre

Radio shows

Music videos

• 1st SM Youth Best Selection: Best Outward Appearance

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