List of presidents of South Korea

This is a list of the presidents of South Korea.

Since the creation of the Government of the Republic of Korea which is commonly known as South Korea in 1948, twelve people have served nineteen terms as President of South Korea. The president is the country's head of state as well as its head of government. The president is also the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces.

List of presidents

Political parties
Conservative (current People Power Party) Liberal (current Democratic Party) Military Independent
Status
Denotes acting president

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Term of office			Political party	Election
No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Took office	Left office	Time in office	Political party	Election
Presidents of the First Republic
1		Syngman Rhee 이승만 李承晩 (1875–1965)	24 July 1948	26 April 1960 (Resigned)	11 years, 277 days	NARRKI Liberal	1st (1948) 2nd (1952) 3rd (1956) March 1960
—		Ho Chong 허정 許政 (1896–1988) Acting	27 April 1960	15 June 1960	50 days	Independent	—
Presidents of the Second Republic
—		Kwak Sang-hoon 곽상훈 郭尙勳 (1896–1980) Acting	16 June 1960	23 June 1960	7 days	Democratic	—
—		Ho Chong 허정 許政 (1896–1988) Acting	23 June 1960	7 August 1960	46 days	Independent	—
—		Baek Nak-jun 백낙준 白樂濬 (1895–1985) Acting	8 August 1960	12 August 1960	5 days	Independent	—
2		Yun Po-sun 윤보선 尹潽善 (1897–1990)	13 August 1960	24 March 1962 (Resigned after a coup)	1 year, 224 days	Democratic New Democratic	4th (August 1960)
—		General Park Chung Hee 박정희 朴正熙 (1917–1979) Chairman of the SCNR	24 March 1962	16 December 1963	1 year, 268 days	Military	—
President of the Third Republic
3		Park Chung Hee 박정희 朴正熙 (1917–1979)	17 December 1963	26 December 1972	9 years, 10 days	Democratic Republican	5th (1963) 6th (1967) 7th (1971)
Presidents of the Fourth Republic
(3)		Park Chung Hee 박정희 朴正熙 (1917–1979)	27 December 1972	26 October 1979 (Assassinated)	6 years, 304 days	Democratic Republican	8th (1972) 9th (1978)
—		Choi Kyu-hah 최규하 崔圭夏 (1919–2006)	26 October 1979	6 December 1979	42 days	Independent	—
4		Choi Kyu-hah 최규하 崔圭夏 (1919–2006)	6 December 1979	16 August 1980 (Resigned after a coup)	255 days	Independent	10th (1979)
—		Park Choong-hoon 박충훈 朴忠勳 (1919–2001) Acting	16 August 1980	31 August 1980	15 days	Democratic Republican	—
5		Chun Doo-hwan 전두환 全斗煥 (1931–2021)	1 September 1980	24 February 1981	177 days	Military	11th (1980)
President of the Fifth Republic
(5)		Chun Doo-hwan 전두환 全斗煥 (1931–2021)	25 February 1981	24 February 1988	7 years	Democratic Justice	12th (1981)
Presidents of the Sixth Republic
6		Roh Tae-woo 노태우 盧泰愚 (1932–2021)	25 February 1988	24 February 1993	5 years	Democratic Justice Democratic Liberal Independent	13th (1987)
7		Kim Young-sam 김영삼 金泳三 (1927–2015)	25 February 1993	24 February 1998	5 years	Democratic Liberal New Korea Independent	14th (1992)
8		Kim Dae-jung 김대중 金大中 (1924–2009)	25 February 1998	24 February 2003	5 years	National Congress Millennium Democratic Independent	15th (1997)
9		Roh Moo-hyun 노무현 盧武鉉 (1946–2009)	25 February 2003^[a]	24 February 2008	5 years	Millennium Democratic Independent Uri Independent	16th (2002)
10		Lee Myung-bak 이명박 李明博 (born 1941)	25 February 2008	24 February 2013	5 years	Grand National Saenuri	17th (2007)
11		Park Geun-hye 박근혜 朴槿惠 (born 1952)	25 February 2013	10 March 2017 (Removed after being impeached)^[b]	4 years, 14 days	Saenuri Liberty Korea	18th (2012)
—		Hwang Kyo-ahn 황교안 黃敎安 (born 1957) Acting	9 December 2016^[b]	9 May 2017	152 days	Independent	—
12		Moon Jae-in 문재인 文在寅 (born 1953)	10 May 2017	9 May 2022	5 years	Democratic	19th (2017)
13		Yoon Suk Yeol 윤석열 尹錫悅 (born 1960)	10 May 2022	Incumbent (powers and duties suspended since 14 December 2024)^[c]	2 years, 232 days	People Power	20th (2022)
—		Han Duck-soo 한덕수 韓悳洙 (born 1949) Acting	14 December 2024^[c]	27 December 2024 (Removed after being impeached)^[d]	14 days	Independent	—
—		Choi Sang-mok 최상목 崔相穆 (born 1963) Acting	27 December 2024^[d]	Incumbent	1 day	Independent	—

Notes

↑ From 12 March to 14 May 2004, Prime Minister Goh Kun served as an acting president after Roh Moo-hyun was impeached by the National Assembly. Roh resumed his powers and duties after the Constitutional Court struck down the motion to impeach.^[1]
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 Park Geun-hye was impeached by the National Assembly on 9 December 2016. Powers and duties assumed by prime minister Hwang Kyo-ahn as acting president. She was removed from office after the impeachment was upheld by the Constitutional Court on 10 March 2017.^[2]^[3]
↑ ^3.0 ^3.1 Yoon Suk Yeol was impeached by the National Assembly on 14 December 2024. Powers and duties assumed by prime minister Han Duck-soo as acting president.^[4]
↑ ^4.0 ^4.1 Han Duck-soo assumed the role as acting president upon the Impeachment of Yoon Suk Yeol, but Han himself was impeached by the National Assembly on 27 December 2024. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Choi Sang-mok, who is next in line to the succession took over both roles of the President and Prime Minister.^[5]

References

↑ Faiola, Anthony (13 May 2004). "Court Rejects S. Korean President's Impeachment". The Washington Post. Retrieved 5 December 2024.
↑ Choe Sang-hun (9 March 2017). "South Korea Removes President Park Geun-hye". The New York Times. Retrieved 5 December 2024.
↑ "Timeline: South Korea's impeached President Park Geun-hye". Reuters. 30 March 2017. Retrieved 5 December 2024.
↑ Jessie Yeung, Gawon Bae and Yoonjung Seo (14 December 2024). "South Korea's parliament votes to impeach president over martial law debacle". CNN. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
↑ "South Korea votes to impeach acting president Han Duck-soo". BBC. 27 December 2024. Retrieved 27 December 2024.

[2] From 12 March to 14 May 2004, Prime Minister Goh Kun served as an acting president after Roh Moo-hyun was impeached by the National Assembly. Roh resumed his powers and duties after the Constitutional Court struck down the motion to impeach.^[1]

[Park_Geun-hye-5] 2.0 ^2.1 Park Geun-hye was impeached by the National Assembly on 9 December 2016. Powers and duties assumed by prime minister Hwang Kyo-ahn as acting president. She was removed from office after the impeachment was upheld by the Constitutional Court on 10 March 2017.^[2]^[3]

[Yoon-7] 3.0 ^3.1 Yoon Suk Yeol was impeached by the National Assembly on 14 December 2024. Powers and duties assumed by prime minister Han Duck-soo as acting president.^[4]

[Han-9] 4.0 ^4.1 Han Duck-soo assumed the role as acting president upon the Impeachment of Yoon Suk Yeol, but Han himself was impeached by the National Assembly on 27 December 2024. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Choi Sang-mok, who is next in line to the succession took over both roles of the President and Prime Minister.^[5]

[1] Faiola, Anthony (13 May 2004). "Court Rejects S. Korean President's Impeachment". The Washington Post. Retrieved 5 December 2024.

[3] Choe Sang-hun (9 March 2017). "South Korea Removes President Park Geun-hye". The New York Times. Retrieved 5 December 2024.

[4] "Timeline: South Korea's impeached President Park Geun-hye". Reuters. 30 March 2017. Retrieved 5 December 2024.

[6] Jessie Yeung, Gawon Bae and Yoonjung Seo (14 December 2024). "South Korea's parliament votes to impeach president over martial law debacle". CNN. Retrieved 14 December 2024.

[8] "South Korea votes to impeach acting president Han Duck-soo". BBC. 27 December 2024. Retrieved 27 December 2024.

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