Kwon Yeong-se was born on February 24, 1959, into a working-class family in Seoul. He graduated from the Seoul National University School of Law and passed his bar examination in 1983. He later received his MPA from the Harvard Kennedy School.

Prior to becoming a politician, Kwon worked as a public prosecutor. He entered politics when he was nominated as the Grand National Party's candidate for Yeongdeungpo B in the 2002 South Korean by-elections after former member Kim Min-seok's resignation in order to run in the Seoul Mayoral election. Kwon was elected with 54.9% of the vote in the election.^[3] He was re-elected in his constituency in the 2004 election and the 2008 election, but failed to be re-elected in the 2012 election.^[4]

While not a member of the National Assembly, he actively supported Park Geun-hye's campaign in the 2012 South Korean presidential election. He was then appointed by President Park Geun-hye to serve as South Korea's Ambassador to China in early 2013. He returned to South Korea in March 2015 and was succeeded by Kim Jang-soo.^[5]

Upon his return to South Korea, he once again ran as the Saenuri Party's candidate for the Yeongdeungpo B constituency in the 2016 South Korean legislative election, however he was defeated by incumbent Shin Kyoung-min.^[6]

In the 2020 South Korean legislative election, Kwon narrowly defeated Democratic candidate Kang Tae-woong in the Yongsan constituency race, returning to the National Assembly as a member after eight years.^[7]