List of Presidents of South Korea

Presidential Standard and Seal of the President of South Korea

To avoid confusion, all the names on this list follow the Eastern order convention (family name first, given name second) for consistency.

Since the establishment of the Republic of Korea which is commonly known as South Korea in 1948, eleven people have served eighteen terms as President of South Korea. Under the Constitution 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.

The presidential term has been set at five years since 1988. It was previously set at four years from 1948 to 1972, six years from 1972 to 1981, and seven years from 1981 to 1988. Since 1981, the president has been barred from reelection. The president must be a South Korean citizen, at least 40 years old, who has lived in South Korea for 5 years.

List of presidents

  Conservative (current: Saenuri Party)   Liberal (current: Minjoo Party of Korea)   Military   Independent

No	Picture	Name	Term	Tenure		Presidential mandate	Affiliation
President of the First Republic
1		Rhee Syng-man I Seungman 이승만 李承晩 (1875–1965)	1	24 July 1948	14 August 1952	1948 — 91.8%	NARRKI [ko] (1948–1951) Liberal Party (1951–1960)
			2	15 August 1952	14 August 1956	1952 — 74.6%
			3	15 August 1956	27 April 1960	1956 — 70.0%
						1960 — 97.0%
			The only President of the First Republic of Korea. The Korean War from 1950 to 1953. Forced to resign in the April Revolution of 1960.
During this interval, Prime Minister Heo Jeong (허정 / 許政) was Acting President.
President of the Second Republic
2		Yun Bo-seon Yun Boseon 윤보선 尹潽善 (1897–1990)	4	12 August 1960	24 March 1962	1960 — 82.2%	Democratic Party (1960–1962) New Democratic Party (1962)
			The only President of the Second Republic of Korea. Park Chung-hee took de facto control over the country through the May 16 coup in 1961.
Chairman of the Supreme Council for National Reconstruction
—		Park Chung-hee Bak Jeonghui 박정희 朴正熙 (1917–1979)	—	24 March 1962	17 December 1963	Acting President	Military
			Park Chung-hee was de facto leader of the country after leading the May 16 coup in 1961, which effectively overthrew the Second Republic of Korea. Park also became Acting President after Yun Bo-seon's resignation in 1962.
President of the Third Republic
3		Park Chung-hee Bak Jeonghui 박정희 朴正熙 (1917–1979)	5	17 December 1963	30 June 1967	1963 — 46.6%	Democratic Republican Party
			6	1 July 1967	30 June 1971	1967 — 51.4%
			7	1 July 1971	26 December 1972	1971 — 53.2%
			The only President of the Third Republic of Korea. Successfully industrialized South Korea and improved the economy significantly. He also proposed a range of significant policies, movements, and diplomatic pacts that contributed to constructing modern South Korea.
Presidents of the Fourth Republic
(3)		Park Chung-hee Bak Jeonghui 박정희 朴正熙 (1917–1979)	8	27 December 1972	26 December 1978	1972 — 99.9%	Democratic Republican Party
			9	27 December 1978	26 October 1979	1978 — 99.9%
			The first President of the Fourth Republic of Korea. Assassinated by Kim Jae-kyu, the director of Korean Central Intelligence Agency (KCIA).
During this interval, Prime Minister Choi Kyu-hah (최규하 / 崔圭夏), was Acting President.
4		Choi Kyu-hah Choe Gyuha 최규하 崔圭夏 (1919–2006)	10	6 December 1979	16 August 1980	1979 — 96.7%	Independent
			The second President of the Fourth Republic of Korea. Chun Doo-hwan took de facto control over the country by leading Coup d'état of December Twelfth in 1979. Presided at the time of the Gwangju Democratization Movement in 1980.
During this interval, Prime Minister Pak Choong-hoon (박충훈 / 朴忠勋), was Acting President.
5		Chun Doo-hwan Jeon Duhwan 전두환 全斗煥 (1931–)	11	1 September 1980	25 February 1981	1980 — 99.9%	Democratic Justice Party
			The third President of the Fourth Republic of Korea.
President of the Fifth Republic
(5)		Chun Doo-hwan Jeon Duhwan 전두환 全斗煥 (1931–)	12	25 February 1981	24 February 1988	1981 — 90.2%	Democratic Justice Party
			The only President of the Fifth Republic of Korea.
Presidents of the Sixth Republic
6		Roh Tae-woo No Taeu 노태우 盧泰愚 (1933–)	13	25 February 1988	24 February 1993	1987 — 36.6% 8,282,738	Democratic Justice Party
			The first President of the Sixth Republic of South Korea and the first president after the introduction of direct free and fair elections. Roh remained committed to democratic reforms, and also hosted the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul. Formerly served as a ROK Army general, an ally and friend of the previous President of the Fifth Republic Chun Doo-hwan.
7		Kim Young-sam Gim Yeongsam 김영삼 金泳三 (1927–2015)	14	25 February 1993	24 February 1998	1992 — 42.0% 9,977,332	Democratic Liberal Party (1993–1995) New Korea Party (1995–1997)
			The second President of the Sixth Republic of South Korea. The first democratic activist to be elected president. Kim further attempted to reform the government and economy. He had former President Chun Doo-hwan and Roh Tae-woo arrested on charges of corruption and treason, winning convictions against both, but later pardoned them on the advice of then President-elect Kim Dae-jung. Kim Young-sam also granted amnesty to thousands of political prisoners, and removed the criminal convictions of pro-democracy protesters who had been arrested during the Gwangju massacre in the aftermath of the Coup d'état of December Twelfth. Led an anti-corruption campaign, requiring government and military officials to publish their financial records, precipitating the resignation of several high-ranking officers and cabinet members.
8		Kim Dae-jung Gim Daejung 김대중 金大中 (1924–2009)	15	25 February 1998	24 February 2003	1997 — 40.3% 10,326,275	National Congress for New Politics (1998–2000) New Millennium Democratic Party (2000–2002)
			The third President of the Sixth Republic of South Korea. The first liberal/centrist President of the Sixth Republic. Kim formulated and implemented the Sunshine Policy of engagement with North Korea, and became the first South Korean president to visit North Korea in 2000, meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong-il in Pyongyang. Nobel Peace Prize recipient in 2000 "for his work for democracy and human rights in South Korea and in East Asia in general, and for peace and reconciliation with North Korea in particular."[1] Co-hosted the 2002 FIFA World Cup with the neighboring country of Japan.
9		Roh Moo-hyun No Muhyeon 노무현 盧武鉉 (1946–2009)	16	25 February 2003	12 March 2004	2002 — 48.91% 12,014,277	New Millennium Democratic Party (2003)
				During this interval, Prime Minister Goh Kun (고건 / 高建) was Acting President.
				14 May 2004	24 February 2008	Impeachment failed; reinstated	Open Uri Party (Our Open Party) (2004–2007)
			The fourth President of the Sixth Republic of South Korea. The second liberal/centrist President of the Sixth Republic. Roh maintained the existing Sunshine Policy of engagement towards North Korea. The first President of the Sixth Republic to be tried for impeachment. Roh's planned to the create an administrative capital, but he was set back by the Supreme Court's ruling that the relocation of the capital was unconstitutional. Instead Roh opted for an administrative center. Served as Member of the National Assembly for Dong District, Busan (1988–1992).
10		Lee Myung-bak I Myeongbak 이명박 李明博 (1941–)	17	25 February 2008	24 February 2013	2007 — 48.7% 11,492,389	Grand National Party (2008–2012) Saenuri Party (New Frontier Party) (2012–2013)
			The fifth President of the Sixth Republic of South Korea. Lee implemented a tougher policy with regard to North Korea, through the MB Doctrine. Reversed the U.S. beef import arrangement in 2008, triggering a series of anti–U.S. beef import protests. Attempted to scale down the development of Sejong into a hub of education, science and business rather than a national administrative center, with the support and backing of the former Prime Minister Chung Un-chan. Growing conflicts with North Korea resulted in the ROKS Cheonan sinking and bombardment of Yeonpyeong. Lee also became the first South Korean president to visit Dokdo, which further escalated tensions with Japan in 2012 before the end of his term. Served as Member of the National Assembly for Jongno District (1996–1998), Mayor of Seoul (2002–2006).
11		Park Geun-hye Bak Geunhye 박근혜 朴槿惠 (1952–)	18	25 February 2013	Presumably resigned	2012 — 51.6% 15,773,128	Saenuri Party (New Frontier Party)
			The sixth President of the Sixth Republic of South Korea. Park is a daughter of former President Park Chung-hee, and she is the first female President of South Korea. Served as Member of the National Assembly for Dalseong County (1998–2012), and as a party list member (2012).

See also

• Government of South Korea
• Vice President of South Korea
• Elections in South Korea § Presidential elections
• List of Prime Ministers of South Korea
• List of Presidents of South Korea by time in office
• List of monarchs of Korea
• Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea

References

Presidents of South Korea (List)
	Syngman Rhee Yun Posun Park Chung-hee Choi Kyu-hah Chun Doo-hwan Roh Tae-woo Kim Young-sam Kim Dae-jung Roh Moo-hyun Lee Myung-bak Park Geun-hye