[3] Cho was born in Seoul, South Korea, the only child of non-musical parents; his father was an engineer.

Seong-Jin Cho constantly tours around the world to work with orchestras and give piano recitals in Europe, North America and Asia.

He also performs regularly with prestigious North American orchestras such as New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, Chicago Symphony, Philadelphia, and Cleveland, He has collaborated with eminent conductors such as Lorin Maazel, Simon Rattle, Kirill Petrenko, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Myung-Whun Chung, Gustavo Dudamel, Valery Gergiev, Vasily Petrenko, Mikhail Pletnev, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Yuri Temirkanov, Gianandrea Noseda, Yannick Nézet-Séguin and Andris Nelsons.

In 2017, Cho made his debut with the Berliner Philharmoniker under Simon Rattle to perform the Ravel Piano Concerto in G.[7] He has been re-invited two other times since then.

Cho is 2024–25 Artist in Residence of Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra[10] performing the Shostakovich Piano Concerto No.

On his 2025 Carnegie Hall recital with a program of complete Ravel solo piano works, Suzan Stempleski of Backtrack noted:[11]"Hearing Cho, with his impeccable technique and acute musical sensitivity, play the whole of this magnificent repertoire over the course of a single evening, deepened one’s appreciation of the beauty and originality of Ravel’s pianistic oeuvre."

4, The Guardian reviewed:[12]"Cho's acclaimed virtuosity was clear, his passagework gleamingly precise, his sound ranging from staggering softness to luminous Steinway shine."

Seong-Jin Cho's first album was his Chopin Piano Competition-winning performance released as a live recording immediately after the conclusion of the competition: In 2016, Cho signed a recording contract with Deutsche Grammophon and has released eight studio albums:[17] In addition, Cho recorded Mozart's newly found work, collaborated with Matthias Goerne for a song album and has released six digital singles: