List of presidents of South Korea facts for kids

The President's flag and seal for South Korea

• Top left: Syngman Rhee became South Korea's first president in 1948.
• Top right: Park Chung Hee was president for the longest time, starting after a coup in 1961.
• Bottom left: Roh Tae-woo was the first president directly chosen by voters under the democratic rules in 1987.
• Bottom right: Lee Ju-ho is currently the acting president.

The President of South Korea is like the main leader of the government and the commander-in-chief (top boss) of the South Korean military.

The Start of the Presidency

The current South Korean government sees the Korean Provisional Government (KPG) as its early beginning. The KPG was set up in 1919 in Shanghai as a government-in-exile (a government operating from outside its country) when Japan ruled Korea. It had nine different leaders between 1919 and 1948.

How Presidents Are Chosen and Their Terms

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

The rules for how long a president serves and if they can be re-elected have changed over time:

• In the First Republic (1948-1960), a president served four years and could only serve two terms. This two-term limit was removed in 1954.
• During the Second Republic (1960-1963), the president's role became more ceremonial, chosen by lawmakers for five-year terms.
• The Third Republic (1963-1972) brought back direct elections for a four-year term, and the two-term limit was removed again in 1969.
• Under the Yushin Constitution of the Fourth Republic (1972-1981), presidents were chosen indirectly for six-year terms, with no limits on how many times they could be re-elected.
• The Fifth Republic (1981-1988) changed the term to seven years, still with indirect elections, but only one term was allowed.

Presidents Through History

As of 2024, thirteen people have served as the full president of South Korea since the office officially began on July 24, 1948, when Syngman Rhee took office.

Park Chung Hee was the longest-serving president, holding the office for 18 years from a military takeover in 1961 until his death in 1979. He ruled with a firm hand during this time.

The first and only woman to be president was Park Geun-hye, who was elected in 2012. She was later removed from office in 2017 after a legal process called impeachment was confirmed by the Constitutional Court of Korea.

Yoon Suk Yeol became president on May 10, 2022. His powers were suspended on December 14, 2024, after the National Assembly started an impeachment process following his declaration of martial law. The Constitutional Court confirmed his removal on April 4, 2025.

During the suspension of his powers, the Prime Minister acted as president. Prime Minister Han Duck-soo was also suspended from acting president duties on December 27, 2024, and was replaced by deputy prime minister Choi Sang-mok, who became acting president. Han Duck-soo was reinstated on March 24, 2025, but resigned on May 1, and deputy prime minister Lee Ju-ho took over as acting president. The next president will be chosen in an election on June 3, 2025.

Who Has Been President?

Here's a list of the presidents of South Korea. Sometimes, an "acting" president steps in temporarily if the president can't do their job.

No.	Picture	Name (Born–Died)	Time in Office			Political Party	Election
			Started	Finished	How long
Leaders during 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	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)
Leaders 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	255 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	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	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	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	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	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	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	Incumbent	53 days	Independent	—

Timeline of South Korean Presidents

Timeline of South Korean governments

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