[1] Over the past 25 years, she worked in various government agencies since she passed the Korean state civil servant exam in 1991.

[1] As the beginning of her career coincided with the ongoing Uruguay Round negotiations at the WTO, Yoo felt that Korea at this time was in urgent need of trade experts.

[7] She also noticed that South Korea was the only country among the WTO member states which was not represented by any women in its delegation team, which prompted her to apply for a position at the Ministry of Trade and Industry.

[8] Yoo at this time, felt the need to gain legal expertise in order to better understand trade, and she went on to study for a Juris Doctor degree at Vanderbilt University Law School.

She therefore believes that it is important to create rules that govern negotiations as well as establish a system that allows for greater coordination between different interests.

[10] As Minister for Trade, Yoo played a key role in the conclusion of text-based negotiations for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) in 2019, providing viable alternatives to reach a common ground among participating countries at varying levels of development.

In this initiative, she emphasized international cooperation and rule-setting in particular, in light of advancing the digital economy and recognizing and embracing the evolving global value chain for better recognition and utilization by stakeholders and industries.

[15] However, given the election of Joe Biden to the US presidency and in the face of widespread support for her rival Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, a Harvard-trained development economist and former Managing Director of the World Bank, Nigerian Minister of Finance and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yoo withdrew her bid on February 5, 2021.

[18] Yoo is married to Jeong Tae-ok, a former civil servant and politician who served as a National Assembly member and spokesman of the main opposition party.