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List of presidents of South Korea

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

To avoid confusion, all the names on this list follow the Eastern order convention (family name first, given name second) for consistency.
Presidential standard and seal of the president of the Republic of Korea

The president of the Republic of Korea serves as the chief executive of the government of the Republic of Korea and the commander-in-chief of the Republic of Korea Armed Forces.

The South Korean government constitutionally considers the Korean Provisional Government (KPG) to be its predecessor.[1] The KPG was established in 1919 as a government in exile in Shanghai during the Japanese occupation of Korea. It had nine different heads of state between September 1919 and August 1948.

Under the 1988 Constitution of the Sixth Republic of Korea, the presidential term is set at five years with no re-election. The president must be a South Korean citizen, at least 40 years old, who has lived in South Korea for 5 years.[2] The term was previously set at four years during the First Republic from 1948 to 1960, including a two-term limit that was repealed in 1954. The presidency was changed into a ceremonial role elected by legislators to five-year terms during the Second Republic from 1960 to 1963. The Third Republic returned the presidency to a directly-elected position with a four-year term in 1963 and repealed the two-term limit in 1969. Under the Yushin Constitution of the Fourth Republic adopted in 1972, the presidency became an indirectly elected position with six-year terms and no limits to re-election. It was replaced with a seven-year term under the Fifth Republic in 1981, which retained the indirect elections but prohibited a second term.[3]

As of 2024, thirteen people have served in full capacity as president of South Korea[4] since the office was formally established on 24 July 1948, when Syngman Rhee took office after being elected by the Constituent National Assembly.[3] The longest-serving president is Park Chung Hee, who held the office for 18 years from a 1961 coup until his assassination in 1979 following a period of authoritarian rule.[3][5] The first and only woman to hold the presidency was his daughter Park Geun-hye, who was elected in 2012 and removed from office in 2017 after her impeachment was upheld by the Constitutional Court of Korea.[3][6] The incumbent president is Yoon Suk Yeol, who assumed office on 10 May 2022.[7]

List of presidents

[edit]
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
Took office Left office Time in office
Presidents of the First Republic
1 Syngman Rhee
이승만
李承晩
(1875–1965) 		24 July 1948 26 April 1960 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 —
2 Yun Po-sun
윤보선
尹潽善
(1897–1990) 		13 August 1960 24 March 1962 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[a] 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 6 December 1979 16 August 1980[b] 255 days 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, 0 days 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, 0 days 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, 0 days 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, 0 days National Congress
Millennium Democratic
Independent 		15th (1997)
9 Roh Moo-hyun
노무현
盧武鉉
(1946–2009) 		25 February 2003[c] 24 February 2008 5 years, 0 days 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, 0 days Grand National
Saenuri 		17th (2007)
11 Park Geun-hye
박근혜
朴槿惠
(born 1952) 		25 February 2013 10 March 2017[d] 4 years, 14 days Saenuri
Liberty Korea 		18th (2012)
— Hwang Kyo-ahn
황교안
黃敎安
(born 1957)
Acting 		9 December 2016[d] 9 May 2017 152 days Independent —
12 Moon Jae-in
문재인
文在寅
(born 1953) 		10 May 2017 9 May 2022 5 years, 0 days 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)[e] 		2 years, 226 days People Power 20th (2022)
— Han Duck-soo
한덕수
韓悳洙
(born 1949)
Acting 		14 December 2024[e] Incumbent 8 days Independent —

Timeline

[edit]
Han Duck-sooYoon Suk YeolMoon Jae-inHwang Kyo-ahnPark Geun-hyeLee Myung-bakGoh KunRoh Moo-hyunKim Dae-jungKim Young-samRoh Tae-wooChun Doo-hwanPark Choong-hoonChoi Kyu-hahPark Chung HeeYun Po-sunBaek Nak-junKwak Sang-hoonHo ChongSyngman Rhee
Ideology # Time in office Name(s)
Conservative 9 21661 days[f] 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 (incumbent)
Liberal 4 6067 days Kim Dae-jung, Moon Jae-in, Roh Moo-hyun, and Yun Po-sun
Timeline of South Korean governments
Yoon Suk YeolMoon Jae-inPark Geun-hyeLee Myung-bakRoh Moo-hyunKim Dae-jungKim Young-samRoh Tae-wooChun Doo-hwanChoi Kyu-hahPark Chung HeeYun Po-sunSyngman RheeSixth Republic of South KoreaFifth Republic of KoreaFourth Republic of KoreaThird Republic of KoreaSupreme Council for National ReconstructionSecond Republic of KoreaFirst Republic of KoreaUnited States Army Military Government in Korea

See also

[edit]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ Died in office.
  2. ^ Removed by coup d'état.
  3. ^ 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.[8]
  4. ^ a b 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.[9][10]
  5. ^ a b 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.[11]
  6. ^ As of 21 December 2024.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Myers, Brian Reynolds (21 February 2018). "Constitutional Reform and Inter-Korean Relations: Part 2". Sthele Press. Retrieved 25 June 2019.
  2. ^ "Constitution of the Republic of Korea". Government of South Korea. Retrieved 5 December 2024 – via United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
  3. ^ a b c d Yap, Fiona (2019). "Term Limits in South Korea: Promises and Perils". In Baturo, Alexander; Elgie, Robert (eds.). The Politics of Presidential Term Limits. London: Oxford University Press. pp. 451–458. doi:10.1093/oso/9780198837404.003.0022. ISBN 9780198837404. OCLC 1076408966.
  4. ^ Morris-Grant, Brianna (3 December 2024). "South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol could be facing impeachment after martial law declaration — here's what that process looks like". ABC News. Retrieved 5 December 2024.
  5. ^ Gan, Nectar (4 December 2024). "The troubled history of martial law, coups and toppled presidents many hoped South Korea had left behind". CNN. Retrieved 5 December 2024.
  6. ^ Choe Sang-hun (9 March 2017). "South Korea Removes President Park Geun-hye". The New York Times. Retrieved 5 December 2024.
  7. ^ "Profile – Yoon Suk Yeol – President of the Republic of Korea". Office of the President - Republic of Korea. Retrieved 23 February 2024.
  8. ^ Faiola, Anthony (13 May 2004). "Court Rejects S. Korean President's Impeachment". The Washington Post. Retrieved 5 December 2024.
  9. ^ Choe Sang-hun (9 March 2017). "South Korea Removes President Park Geun-hye". The New York Times. Retrieved 5 December 2024.
  10. ^ "Timeline: South Korea's impeached President Park Geun-hye". Reuters. 30 March 2017. Retrieved 5 December 2024.
  11. ^ 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.
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