Among his most well-known films are North Korean Partisan in South Korea (1990), White Badge (1992), Life and Death of the Hollywood Kid (1994), Unbowed (2012) and National Security (2012).

During his heyday, Chung helmed some of the most hard-hitting and socially conscious films of the 1980s and 1990s such as North Korean Partisan in South Korea (1990), White Badge (1992), and Life and Death of the Hollywood Kid (1994).

A critique of corruption in the judicial system inspired by the real-life case of a math professor who fired a crossbow at a judge, the film caused a sensation subsequent to its commercial release in January 2012.

Boldly opting to spend 90% of its running time on the waterboarding and other acts of horrific torture inflicted on Kim (who subsequently became Korea's Minister of Health and Welfare), Chung's film was uncompromising and challenging.

Chung originally began the project as its co-director, but when his film Unbowed was green-lighted, he turned over the final editing to his collaborator, the US-trained director and professor Heo Chul.