List of presidents of South Korea facts for kids
- Top left: Syngman Rhee, first president
- Top right: Park Chung Hee
- Bottom left: Roh Tae-woo
- Bottom right: Lee Jae Myung, current president.
The President of South Korea is the main leader of the government. They are also the head of the military.
South Korea's government sees the Korean Provisional Government (KPG) as its early beginning. The KPG was formed in 1919 in Shanghai. This happened when Korea was under Japanese rule. The KPG had nine different leaders from 1919 to 1948.
Today, under the 1988 Constitution, a president serves for five years. They cannot be elected again. To be president, a person must be a South Korean citizen. They must also be at least 40 years old. They need to have lived in South Korea for five years.
Over time, the rules for presidents have changed. In the past, terms were four years. Sometimes, presidents could serve more than one term. Later, the rules changed to six or seven-year terms. Now, it is a single five-year term.
As of 2025[update], fourteen people have been president of South Korea. The first was Syngman Rhee. He took office on July 24, 1948. He was chosen by the National Assembly.
The president who served the longest was Park Chung Hee. He was president for 18 years. His time in office began in 1961. It ended in 1979. His daughter, Park Geun-hye, was the first and only woman president. She was elected in 2012. Her term ended early in 2017 after a special court decision.
Lee Jae Myung became president on June 4, 2025. This happened after his predecessor, Yoon Suk Yeol, left office early. Mr. Yoon's duties were paused in December 2024. A court confirmed his term had ended in April 2025. Mr. Lee was then elected in the 2025 presidential election.
Understanding the President's Role
Political Parties |
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Conservative (like the current People Power Party) Liberal (like the current Democratic Party) Military Independent (not part of a major party) |
Status |
Means an acting president (filling in temporarily) |
No. | Picture | Name (Born–Died) |
Time in Office | Political Party | Election | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Started | Ended | How Long | |||||
Leaders during the US Military Government | |||||||
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 | 7 August 1960 | 45 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 | 24 February 2013 | 4 years, 365 days | 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 | 9 May 2017 | 151 days | Independent | — | |
12 | Moon Jae-in 문재인 文在寅 (born 1953) |
10 May 2017 | 9 May 2022 | 4 years, 364 days | 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 | 3 June 2025 | 32 days | Independent | — | |
14 | Lee Jae Myung 이재명 李在明 (born 1963) |
4 June 2025 | Incumbent | 41 days | Democratic | 21st (2025) |
Timeline of Leaders

Main Political Idea | How Many | Total Time in Office | Names of Presidents | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | 9 | 21765 days | Choi Kyu-hah, Chun Doo-hwan, Kim Young-sam, Lee Myung-bak, Park Chung Hee, Park Geun-hye, Roh Tae-woo, Syngman Rhee, and Yoon Suk Yeol | |
Liberal | 5 | Expression error: Unexpected < operator. days | Kim Dae-jung, Moon Jae-in, Roh Moo-hyun, Yun Po-sun, and Lee Jae Myung |
Timeline of South Korean governments |
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See also
In Spanish: Anexo:Presidentes de Corea del Sur para niños
- Government of South Korea
- Lifespan timeline of presidents of South Korea
- 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