She was born in the wealthy sector of the current Seosan, South Chungcheong Province during the reign of King Yeongjo, her future husband.
But Hong Bong-han, Jeongjo's maternal grandfather, and Jeong Hu-gyeom, Princess Hwawan's adoptive son, protested this decision.
His last words were 'Sujeongjeon Hall,' which was the residence of Yesun, giving rise to speculation to this day that Queen Dowager poisoned Jeongjo.
He was succeeded by his 10-year-old son, Yi Gong (temple name: King Sunjo) and Yesun was raised to the status of Grand Queen Dowager.
[2] As the most senior-generation royal family member, Yesun acted as regent for the young king and exerted power until she voluntarily gave it up in 1803.
She departed from the policy of the late King, enforcing the Catholic Persecution of 1801 and favoring the Noron Byeokpa faction.
On 9 February 1804, after reaping the convergence and cleansing, when Sunjo's family was declared, most bureaucrats were purged by Kim Jo-sun, the father of Queen Sunwon, and the power of King Jeongjo.
Prior to their deaths, King Yeongjo had designed and built Queen Jeongseong's tomb intending to be on the right side of her mound.
Despite the indifferences between Jeongjo and Grand Queen Dowager Yesun, and prior to King Jeongjo’s death in 1805, the king himself was considerate of having his grandfather be buried next to the late Grand Queen Dowager within the dynastic tombs at Donggureung, the royal tomb of Wonneung (원릉; 元陵), in the city of Guri, Gyeonggi Province.