Kim made his acting debut in 1999 with the film The Uprising under his birth name Kim Tae-wook. In 2006 he started going by his current stage name Kim Jung-tae. Best known as a supporting actor, Kim was often typecast in antagonistic roles, mostly as gangsters, loan sharks, and other such villains.

Kim drew praise in 2010 when he played the leading role in the 25-minute short film Remember O Goddess, a film noir involving memory loss.That same year, audiences first got a taste of Kim’s comical side in He’s on Duty.