[1] Suh was born in Chūseinan-dō (South Chungcheong Province), Korea, Empire of Japan on April 3, 1943.

After serving his time in the military, Suh worked as a reporter for the Chosun Ilbo until 1980.

Suh ran for the Seoul 11th electoral district (now Dongjak-gu A) as a member of the Democratic Korea Party in the 1981 South Korean legislative election.

As a result, Suh created the Future Hope Alliance; a solely pro-Park Geun-hye party in 2010 as his relations with pro-Lee Myung-bak members of the Grand National Party deteriorated.

Suh served as acting Speaker of the National Assembly until Chung Sye-kyun was elected to the position.