A device and method for driving an organic EL display is disclosed, in which the device includes a photo converter sensing an intensity of external light, and converting the sensed light to an electric signal; an A/D converter converting the electric signal of the photo converter from an analog signal to a digital signal; a comparator comparing the value of the electric signal converted to the digital signal with a preset reference value; a controller controlling at least any one of the driver and the power source according to comparison results; a driver controlling the amount of current applied to a display panel according to a control signal of the controller; and a power source controlling the intensity of voltage applied to the driver and the display panel according to the control signal of the controller.