Lee captained South Korea at the 2007 AFC Asian Cup in place of injured Kim Nam-il. He saved a total of three shootout penalties during the tournament, two against Iran and one against Japan (they would win both matches and finish third overall). He was selected as the goalkeeper of All-Star XI, but he was suspended from the national team for a year because he sneaked out from his hotel room and went on a drinking binge in an Indonesian bar along with South Korean teammates Kim Sang-sik, Woo Sung-yong and Lee Dong-gook before the match against Bahrain.