Yong was born in Seoul and grew up moving back and forth between Korea and the United States. He accepted Christ in high school, at a Korean church youth retreat in New York. Yong and his family moved to Hong Kong and started attending Island ECC in 2004. He has since served as a teacher in the youth ministry, a co-leader of a care group and an Alpha course group leader. He is married to Minsun Wei (who to this day remains the most Godly woman he knows), and they have two children, Hetty and Shin-Jae. Yong is a partner at an international law firm and is an avid (but sadly struggling) golfer.