After qualifying for the
bar in 1982, Joo worked as a judge for 19 years. He was firstly elected to the
National Assembly in
2004 election. Following his re-election in
2008 election, he was appointed the
Minister for Special Affairs. On 18 July 2016, Joo announced he would run as the party chairperson for the
upcoming leadership election. He lost to
Lee Jung-hyun. Following the
political scandal, Joo left the Saenuri Party along with other dissidents. He was elected the parliamentary leader of the newly formed
Bareun Party but in November 2017, he announced his departure in order to join the
Liberty Korea Party (LKP) along with other 8 MPs. He, however, remained till his term as a parliamentary leader ended. In the
2020 election, Joo switched to Suseong 1st constituency, where the incumbent is
Kim Boo-kyum (
Democratic Party). He defeated the Democratic candidate and the former
Minister of the Interior and Safety. He is now considered as a potential candidate for the President of the
United Future Party (UFP), following the resignation of
Hwang Kyo-ahn due to the election suffer. On 4 May 2020, Joo launched his bid for the UFP's parliamentary leader. 4 days later, he was elected the parliamentary leader of the UFP, as well as the party's interim President where the position has been vacant since 15 April. On 15 June, Joo announced his resignation as the UFP parliamentary leader following the Democratic Party's decision to take 6 parliamentary committees without dividing with opposition parties. He harshly criticised that the ruling Democratic Party is going to the
one-party dictatorship. He has announced his intention to resign as the parliamentary leader on 16 April, adding that he would not serve until his term finishes on 29 May, but until the new person is elected. On 10 May 2021, Joo announced his bid for the
June 2021 leadership election. He would lose the election to
Lee Jun-seok. == Personal life ==