List of presidents of South Korea

Since the establishment of the Government of the Republic of Korea, commonly known as South Korea, in 1948, twelve people have served nineteen 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.

Presidential Standard and Seal of the President of South Korea

• Top left: Rhee Syng-man became the first President of the Republic of Korea in 1948.
• Top right: Park Chung-hee was the longest-serving President, taking power during the 1961 coup d'etat, sometimes named as the Tiger of Yushin Constitution in the 1970s.
• Bottom left: Roh Tae-woo was the first president of the Sixth Republic, which was created by the democratization of South Korea in 1987.
• Bottom right: Moon Jae-in, the incumbent officeholder, has held office since 2017.

Prior to the establishment of the First Republic in 1948, the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea established in Shanghai in September 1919 as the continuation of several governments proclaimed in the aftermath of March 1st Movement earlier that year coordinated Korean people's resistance against Japan during the Japanese occupation of Korea. The legitimacy of the Provisional Government has been recognised and succeeded by South Korea in the latter's original Constitution of 1948 and the current Constitution of 1988. Nine people have served twenty-four terms as Heads of State (with varying titles) of the Provisional Government between September 1919 and August 1948.

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

Political parties
Conservative (Current People Power Party)   Liberal (Current Democratic Party)   Military   Independent
Status
Denotes acting president

Presidents of the First Republic
No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Term of office			Political party	Term (Election)
			Took office	Left office	Time in office
1		Rhee Syng-man 이승만 李承晩 (1875–1965)	24 July 1948	27 April 1960	11 years, 279 days	NARRKI → Liberal	1 (1948)
							2 (1952)
							3 (1956)
							4 (Mar. 1960)[n 1]
—		Heo Jeong 허정 許政 (1896–1988) (acting)[n 2]	27 April 1960	15 June 1960	50 days	Independent	Acting
Presidents of the Second Republic
No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Term of office			Political party	Term (Election)
			Took office	Left office	Time in office
—		Gwak Sang-hun 곽상훈 郭尙勳 (1896–1980) (acting)[n 3]	16 June 1960	23 June 1960	8 days	Democratic	Acting
—		Heo Jeong 허정 許政 (1896–1988) (acting)[n 4]	23 June 1960	7 August 1960	46 days	Independent	Acting
—		Paik Nak-chun 백낙준 白樂濬 (1895–1985) (acting)[n 5]	8 August 1960	12 August 1960	5 days	Democratic	Acting
2		Yun Po-sun 윤보선 尹潽善 (1897–1990)	12 August 1960	24 March 1962	1 year, 225 days	Democratic → New Democratic	4 (Aug. 1960)
—		General Park Chung-hee 박정희 朴正熙 (1917–1979) (acting)[n 6]	24 March 1962	16 December 1963	1 year, 268 days	Military	Acting
President of the Third Republic
No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Term of office			Political party	Term (Election)
			Took office	Left office	Time in office
3		Park Chung-hee 박정희 朴正熙 (1917–1979)	17 December 1963	26 December 1972	9 years, 10 days	Democratic Republican	5 (1963)
							6 (1967)
							7 (1971)
Presidents of the Fourth Republic
No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Term of office			Political party	Term (Election)
			Took office	Left office	Time in office
(3)		Park Chung-hee 박정희 朴正熙 (1917–1979)	27 December 1972	26 October 1979[n 7]	6 years, 304 days	Democratic Republican	8 (1972)
							9 (1978)
—		Choi Kyu-hah 최규하 崔圭夏 (1919–2006)	26 October 1979	6 December 1979	42 days	Independent	Acting[n 4]
4			6 December 1979	16 August 1980[n 8]	255 days		10 (1979)
—		Park Choong-hoon 박충훈 朴忠勳 (1919–2001) (acting)[n 9]	16 August 1980	31 August 1980	16 days	Independent	Acting
5		Chun Doo-hwan 전두환 全斗煥 (born 1931)	1 September 1980	24 February 1981	177 days	Democratic Justice	11 (1980)
President of the Fifth Republic
No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Term of office			Political party	Term (Election)
			Took office	Left office	Time in office
(5)		Chun Doo-hwan 전두환 全斗煥 (born 1931)	25 February 1981	24 February 1988	7 years	Democratic Justice	12 (1981)
Presidents of the Sixth Republic
No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Term of office			Political party	Term (Election)
			Took office	Left office	Time in office
6		Roh Tae-woo 노태우 盧泰愚 (born 1932)	25 February 1988	24 February 1993	5 years	Democratic Justice → Democratic Liberal → Independent	13 (1987)
7		Kim Young-sam 김영삼 金泳三 (1927–2015)	25 February 1993	24 February 1998	5 years	Democratic Liberal → New Korea → Independent	14 (1992)
8		Kim Dae-jung 김대중 金大中 (1924–2009)	25 February 1998	24 February 2003	5 years	National Congress → Millennium Democratic → Independent	15 (1997)
9		Roh Moo-hyun 노무현 盧武鉉 (1946–2009)	25 February 2003[n 10]	24 February 2008	5 years	Millennium Democratic → Independent → Uri → Independent	16 (2002)
10		Lee Myung-bak 이명박 李明博 (born 1941)	25 February 2008	24 February 2013	5 years	Grand National → Saenuri	17 (2007)
11		Park Geun-hye 박근혜 朴槿惠 (born 1952)	25 February 2013	10 March 2017[n 11]	4 years, 14 days	Saenuri → Liberty Korea	18 (2012)
—		Hwang Kyo-ahn 황교안 黃敎安 (born 1957) (acting)[n 4]	10 March 2017	10 May 2017	62 days	Independent	Acting
12		Moon Jae-in 문재인 文在寅 (born 1953)	10 May 2017	Incumbent	3 years, 276 days	Democratic	19 (2017)

Timeline

Living former presidents

As of February 2021, four former presidents are alive:

• 
  Chun Doo-hwan
  (1980–1988)
  Age 90
• 
  Roh Tae-woo
  (1988–1993)
  Age 88
• 
  Lee Myung-bak
  (2008–2013)
  Age 79
• 
  Park Geun-hye
  (2013–2017)
  Age 69

The most recent President to die was Kim Young-sam, who died on 22 November 2015 (at the age of 87 years, 337 days).

Number of presidents alive at each moment in South Korea history
Starting and ending events	Number living | names		Timespan
From: Jul 24, 1948 · Inauguration of Rhee Syng-man To: Aug 12, 1960 · Inauguration of Yun Bo-seon	1	Rhee Syng-man	12 years, 19 days
From: Aug 12, 1960 · Inauguration of Yun Bo-seon To: Dec 17, 1963 · Inauguration of Park Chung-hee	2	Yun Bo-seon   Rhee Syng-man	3 years, 127 days
From: Dec 17, 1963 · Inauguration of Park Chung-hee To: Jul 19, 1965 · Death of Rhee Syng-man	3	Park Chung-hee   Yun Bo-seon   Rhee Syng-man	1 year, 214 days
From: Jul 19, 1965 · Death of Rhee Syng-man To: Oct 26, 1979 · Assassination of Park Chung-hee	2	Park Chung-hee   Yun Bo-seon	14 years, 99 days
From: Oct 26, 1979 · Assassination of Park Chung-hee To: Dec 6, 1979 · Inauguration of Choi Kyu-hah	1	Yun Bo-seon	41 days
From: Dec 6, 1979 · Inauguration of Choi Kyu-hah To: Aug 27, 1980 · Inauguration of Chun Doo-hwan	2	Choi Kyu-hah   Yun Bo-seon	265 days
From: Aug 27, 1980 · Inauguration of Chun Doo-hwan To: Feb 25, 1988 · Inauguration of Roh Tae-woo	3	Chun Doo-hwan   Choi Kyu-hah   Yun Bo-seon	7 years, 182 days
From: Feb 25, 1988 · Inauguration of Roh Tae-woo To: Jul 18, 1990 · Death of Yun Bo-seon	4	Roh Tae-woo   Chun Doo-hwan   Choi Kyu-hah   Yun Bo-seon	2 years, 143 days
From: Jul 18, 1990 · Death of Yun Bo-seon To: Feb 25, 1993 · Inauguration of Kim Young-sam	3	Roh Tae-woo   Chun Doo-hwan   Choi Kyu-hah	2 years, 222 days
From: Feb 25, 1993 · Inauguration of Kim Young-sam To: Feb 25, 1998 · Inauguration of Kim Dae-jung	4	Kim Young-sam   Roh Tae-woo   Chun Doo-hwan   Choi Kyu-hah	5 years, 0 days
From: Feb 25, 1998 · Inauguration of Kim Dae-jung To: Feb 25, 2003 · Inauguration of Roh Moo-hyun	5	Kim Dae-jung   Kim Young-sam   Roh Tae-woo   Chun Doo-hwan   Choi Kyu-hah	5 years, 0 days
From: Feb 25, 2003 · Inauguration of Roh Moo-hyun To: Oct 22, 2006 · Death of Choi Kyu-hah	6	Roh Moo-hyun   Kim Dae-jung   Kim Young-sam   Roh Tae-woo   Chun Doo-hwan   Choi Kyu-hah	3 years, 239 days
From: Oct 22, 2006 · Death of Choi Kyu-hah To: Feb 25, 2008 · Inauguration of Lee Myung-bak	5	Roh Moo-hyun   Kim Dae-jung   Kim Young-sam   Roh Tae-woo   Chun Doo-hwan	1 year, 126 days
From: Feb 25, 2008 · Inauguration of Lee Myung-bak To: May 23, 2009 · Death of Roh Moo-hyun	6	Lee Myung-bak   Roh Moo-hyun   Kim Dae-jung   Kim Young-sam   Roh Tae-woo   Chun Doo-hwan	1 year, 87 days
From: May 23, 2009 · Death of Roh Moo-hyun To: Aug 18, 2009 · Death of Kim Dae-jung	5	Lee Myung-bak   Kim Dae-jung   Kim Young-sam   Roh Tae-woo   Chun Doo-hwan	87 days
From: Aug 18, 2009 ·Death of Kim Dae-jung To: Feb 25, 2013 · Inauguration of Park Geun-hye	4	Lee Myung-bak   Kim Young-sam   Roh Tae-woo   Chun Doo-hwan	3 years, 191 days
From: Feb 25, 2013 · Inauguration of Park Geun-hye To: Nov 22, 2015 · Death of Kim Young-sam	5	Park Geun-hye   Lee Myung-bak   Kim Young-sam   Roh Tae-woo   Chun Doo-hwan	2 years, 270 days
From: Nov 22, 2015 · Death of Kim Young-sam To: May 10, 2017 · Inauguration of Moon Jae-in	4	Park Geun-hye   Lee Myung-bak   Roh Tae-woo   Chun Doo-hwan	1 year, 169 days
From: May 10, 2017 · Inauguration of Moon Jae-in To: (present)	5	Moon Jae-in   Park Geun-hye   Lee Myung-bak   Roh Tae-woo   Chun Doo-hwan	3 years, 275 days
Starting and ending events	Number living | names		Timespan
Sources:[1]

by age

#	President	Born	Age at start of presidency	Age at end of presidency	Post-presidency timespan	Lifespan
						Died	Age
01	Rhee Syng-man	Mar 26, 1875	73 years, 120 days Jul 24, 1948	85 years, 31 days Apr 26, 1960	5 years, 84 days	Jul 19, 1965	90 years, 115 days
02	Yun Bo-seon	Aug 26, 1897	62 years, 352 days Aug 12, 1960	64 years, 210 days Mar 24, 1962	28 years, 116 days	Jul 18, 1990	92 years, 326 days
03	Park Chung-hee	Nov 14, 1917	46 years, 33 days Dec 17, 1963	61 years, 346 days Oct 26, 1979	N/A Died in office	Oct 26, 1979	61 years, 346 days
04	Choi Kyu-hah	Jul 16, 1919	60 years, 143 days Dec 6, 1979	61 years, 31 days Aug 16, 1980	26 years, 67 days	Oct 22, 2006	87 years, 98 days
05	Chun Doo-hwan	Jan 18, 1931	49 years, 222 days Aug 27, 1980	57 years, 37 days Feb 24, 1988	32 years, 351 days	(living)	90 years, 22 days
06	Roh Tae-woo	Dec 4, 1932	55 years, 83 days Feb 25, 1988	60 years, 82 days Feb 24, 1993	27 years, 351 days	(living)	88 years, 67 days
07	Kim Young-sam	Dec 20, 1927	65 years, 67 days Feb 25, 1993	70 years, 66 days Feb 24, 1998	17 years, 271 days	Nov 22, 2015	87 years, 337 days
08	Kim Dae-jung	Jan 6, 1924	74 years, 50 days Feb 25, 1998	79 years, 49 days Feb 24, 2003	6 years, 175 days	Aug 18, 2009	85 years, 224 days
09	Roh Moo-hyun	Sep 1, 1946	56 years, 177 days Feb 25, 2003	61 years, 176 days Feb 24, 2008	1 year, 88 days	May 23, 2009	62 years, 264 days
10	Lee Myung-bak	Dec 19, 1941	66 years, 68 days Feb 25, 2008	71 years, 67 days Feb 24, 2013	7 years, 351 days	(living)	79 years, 52 days
11	Park Geun-hye	Feb 2, 1952	61 years, 23 days Feb 25, 2013	65 years, 36 days Mar 10, 2017	3 years, 336 days	(living)	69 years, 7 days
12	Moon Jae-in	Jan 24, 1953	64 years, 106 days May 10, 2017	(incumbent)	(incumbent)	(living)	68 years, 16 days
#	President	Born	Age at start of presidency	Age at end of presidency	Post-presidency timespan	Died	Age
						Lifespan

See also

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

Notes

1. The election was nullified.
2. as Minister of Foreign Affairs
3. as Speaker of the House of Commons
4. as Prime Minister
5. as President of the Senate
6. as Chairman of the Supreme Council for National Reconstruction
7. Died in office.
8. Removed by coup d'état.
9. as acting Prime Minister
10. From 12 March to 14 May 2004, Prime Minister Goh Kun served as an acting president. It was because of the National Assembly's motion to impeach him. He later returned to his post after the Constitutional Court refused to impeach him.
11. Impeached and removed.

References

1. "대통령기록관 기록갤러리". www.pa.go.kr (in Korean). National Archives of Korea - Presidential Archive. Retrieved January 20, 2021.