[1][2] A 1968 graduate of Seoul National University, Chung joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1971.

On May 20, 2017, newly-inaugurated president Moon Jae-in appointed him as the ministerial-level Director of the National Security Office.

[3][4] In July 2020, Chung was replaced by Suh Hoon and reshuffled to President Moon's Special Advisor on Foreign Affairs, Diplomacy and National Security.

[7] He then flew to the United States for a meeting with President Donald Trump and to announce the Trump-Kim summit.

[8] On November 4, 2019, at a waiting room on the sidelines of the ASEAN Plus 3 (Japan, China, and South Korea) summit held near Bangkok, when Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe talked with South Korean President Moon Jae-in for 11 minutes, Chung Eui-yong took photos, and they were published without the approval of the Japanese side.