List of presidents of South Korea facts for kids

Presidential standard and seal of the president of the Republic of Korea

• Top left: Syngman Rhee, first president
• Top right: Park Chung Hee
• Bottom left: Roh Tae-woo
• Bottom right: Lee Jae Myung, incumbent president.

The President of South Korea is the main leader of the government in South Korea. They are also the commander-in-chief of the country's armed forces. This means they are in charge of the military.

South Korea's government sees the Korean Provisional Government (KPG) as its starting point. The KPG was formed in 1919 in Shanghai. It was a government that operated from outside the country while Korea was under Japanese rule. The KPG had nine different leaders between 1919 and 1948.

Under the 1988 Constitution, a president serves for five years. They cannot be re-elected. To become president, a person must be a South Korean citizen. They must also be at least 40 years old and have lived in South Korea for five years.

In the past, the presidential term changed several times. From 1948 to 1960, it was four years with a two-term limit. Later, it became a ceremonial role elected by lawmakers. In 1963, it returned to a directly elected position. The term was six years from 1972 and then seven years from 1981.

As of 2025, fourteen people have served as president of South Korea. The first president, Syngman Rhee, took office on July 24, 1948. The president who served the longest was Park Chung Hee. He was president for 18 years, from 1961 until 1979. His daughter, Park Geun-hye, was the first and only woman president. She was elected in 2012 but was removed from office in 2017 after an impeachment process.

Lee Jae Myung became president on June 4, 2025. This happened after his predecessor, Yoon Suk Yeol, was removed from office. The National Assembly had started the impeachment process in December 2024. This followed a martial law declaration. Lee Jae Myung was elected in the 2025 presidential election.

South Korea's Presidents: A Complete List

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Term of office			Political party	Election
			Took office	Left office	Time in office
President under the United States Army Military Government in Korea
1		Syngman Rhee 이승만 李承晩 (1875–1965)	24 July 1948	15 August 1948	22 days	NARRKI	1st (1948)
Presidents of the First Republic
(1)		Syngman Rhee 이승만 李承晩 (1875–1965)	15 August 1948	27 April 1960	11 years, 256 days	NARRKI Liberal	2nd (1952) 3rd (1956) March 1960
—		Ho Chong 허정 許政 (1896–1988) Acting	27 April 1960	15 June 1960	49 days	Independent	—
Presidents of the Second Republic
—		Ho Chong 허정 許政 (1896–1988) Acting	15 June 1960	15 June 1960	0 days	Independent	—
—		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	8 August 1960	46 days	Independent	—
—		Baek Nak-jun 백낙준 白樂濬 (1895–1985) Acting	8 August 1960	12 August 1960	4 days		—
2		Yun Po-sun 윤보선 尹潽善 (1897–1990)	13 August 1960	16 May 1961	276 days	Democratic	4th (August 1960)
Presidents under the Supreme Council for National Reconstruction (SCNR)
(2)		Yun Po-sun 윤보선 尹潽善 (1897–1990)	16 May 1961	24 March 1962	312 days	Democratic New Democratic	—
—		General Park Chung Hee 박정희 朴正熙 (1917–1979) Acting	24 March 1962	17 December 1963	1 year, 268 days	Military Democratic Republican	—
President of the Third Republic
3		Park Chung Hee 박정희 朴正熙 (1917–1979)	17 December 1963	21 November 1972	8 years, 340 days	Democratic Republican	5th (1963) 6th (1967) 7th (1971)
Presidents of the Fourth Republic
(3)		Park Chung Hee 박정희 朴正熙 (1917–1979)	21 November 1972	26 October 1979	6 years, 339 days	Democratic Republican	8th (1972) 9th (1978)
—		Choi Kyu-hah 최규하 崔圭夏 (1919–2006)	26 October 1979	6 December 1979	41 days	Independent	—
4			6 December 1979	16 August 1980	254 days		10th (1979)
—		Park Choong-hoon 박충훈 朴忠勳 (1919–2001) Acting	16 August 1980	1 September 1980	16 days	Democratic Republican	—
5		Chun Doo-hwan 전두환 全斗煥 (1931–2021)	1 September 1980	24 February 1981	176 days	Military (Hanahoe) Democratic Justice (Hanahoe)	11th (1980)
President of the Fifth Republic
(5)		Chun Doo-hwan 전두환 全斗煥 (1931–2021)	25 February 1981	24 February 1988	6 years, 364 days	Democratic Justice (Hanahoe)	12th (1981)
Presidents of the Sixth Republic
6		Roh Tae-woo 노태우 盧泰愚 (1932–2021)	25 February 1988	24 February 1993	4 years, 365 days	Democratic Justice (Hanahoe) Democratic Liberal (Hanahoe) Independent (Hanahoe)	13th (1987)
7		Kim Young-sam 김영삼 金泳三 (1927–2015)	25 February 1993	24 February 1998	4 years, 364 days	Democratic Liberal New Korea Independent	14th (1992)
8		Kim Dae-jung 김대중 金大中 (1924–2009)	25 February 1998	24 February 2003	4 years, 364 days	National Congress Millennium Democratic Independent	15th (1997)
9		Roh Moo-hyun 노무현 盧武鉉 (1946–2009)	25 February 2003	12 March 2004	1 year, 16 days	Millennium Democratic Independent	16th (2002)
—		Goh Kun 고건 高建 (born 1938) Acting	12 March 2004	14 May 2004	63 days	Millennium Democratic	—
(9)		Roh Moo-hyun 노무현 盧武鉉 (1946–2009)	14 May 2004	24 February 2008	3 years, 286 days	Uri Independent	—
10		Lee Myung-bak 이명박 李明博 (born 1941)	25 February 2008	25 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	4 years, 13 days	Saenuri Liberty Korea	18th (2012)
—		Hwang Kyo-ahn 황교안 黃敎安 (born 1957) Acting	9 December 2016	10 May 2017	152 days	Independent	—
12		Moon Jae-in 문재인 文在寅 (born 1953)	10 May 2017	10 May 2022	5 years	Democratic	19th (2017)
13		Yoon Suk Yeol 윤석열 尹錫悅 (born 1960)	10 May 2022	4 April 2025	2 years, 329 days	People Power	20th (2022)
—		Han Duck-soo 한덕수 韓悳洙 (born 1949) Acting	14 December 2024	27 December 2024	13 days	Independent	—
—		Choi Sang-mok 최상목 崔相穆 (born 1963) Acting	27 December 2024	24 March 2025	87 days	Independent	—
—		Han Duck-soo 한덕수 韓悳洙 (born 1949) Acting	24 March 2025	1 May 2025	38 days	Independent	—
—		Lee Ju-ho 이주호 李周浩 (born 1961) Acting	2 May 2025	4 June 2025	33 days	Independent	—
14		Lee Jae Myung 이재명 李在明 (born 1963)	4 June 2025	Incumbent	80 days	Democratic	21st (2025)

Presidential Terms Timeline

Timeline of South Korean governments

More Information

• Government of South Korea
• List of presidents of South Korea by age
• List of monarchs of Korea
• List of presidents of South Korea by time in office
• List of presidents of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea
• List of prime ministers of South Korea
• Presidential elections in South Korea
• Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea
• Vice President of South Korea

See also

In Spanish: Anexo:Presidentes de Corea del Sur para niños