Newly appointed manager Byun brought intensively aggressive football to Daegu, named the "Bullet Football", and Lee began to claim the spotlight with his powerful dribbles. In his first season, he came seventh in the top scorers chart with eight goals, then came fifth in the 2008 season with eleven goals. In both seasons, he became top scoring South Korean of the league between foreign players. In his last game for Daegu, against Pohang Steelers in the semi-final of Korean FA Cup, he played full-time even with injury, but failed to rescue his side from a defeat. Daegu wanted to keep Lee, but he was willing to move to Europe, so in December 2008, his contract with Daegu expired, meaning he became a free agent. Several European clubs showed their interest in acquiring his talents. He was offered a trial at English Premier League club Blackburn Rovers, however he turned them down because he worried about the competition for a starting position in the club. In February 2009, it was again rumoured that Blackburn would be interested in signing the still free agent Lee Keun-ho, but again, he rejected the opportunity.