List of Presidents of South Korea
List of Presidents of the Republic of Korea
Conservative Centrist Liberal Progressive Military Independent

List of Presidents of South Korea

Section Title: List of Presidents of the Republic of Korea
Table Section Text: Conservative Centrist Liberal Progressive Military Independent

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Term	Term of Office	Electoral mandate	Political party

President of the First Republic

1	-	Rhee Syng-man I (Yi) Seungman 이승만 李承晩 (1875–1965)	1	24 July 1948	14 August 1952	1948 — 91.8%	NARRKI (1948–1951) Liberal (1951–1960)

2	15 August 1952	14 August 1956	1952 — 74.6%

3	15 August 1956	27 April 1960	1956 — 70.0%

March 1960 — 100.0%

The only President of the First Republic of Korea. Previously the President (1919-1925) and the Chairman of the State Council (1947-1948) of the Provisional Government.

During this interval, Minister of Foreign Affairs Heo Jeong (허정 / 許政) was Acting President.

President of the Second Republic

During this interval, Speaker of National Assembly (House of Commons) Gwak Sang-hun (곽상훈 / 郭尙勳) was Acting President.

During this interval, Prime Minister Heo Jeong (허정 / 許政) was Acting President.

During this interval, Speaker of National Assembly (Senate) Baek Nak-jun (백낙준 / 白樂濬) was Acting President.

2	-	Yun Bo-seon Yun Boseon 윤보선 尹潽善 (1897–1990)	4	12 August 1960	24 March 1962	August 1960 — 82.2%	Democratic (1960–1962) New Democratic (1962)

The only President of the Second Republic of Korea. Park Chung-hee took de facto control over the country through the May 16 coup in 1961.

Chairman of the Supreme Council for National Reconstruction

—	-	Park Chung-hee Bak Jeonghui 박정희 朴正熙 (1917–1979)	—	24 March 1962	17 December 1963	Acting President	Military

Park Chung-hee was de facto leader of the country after leading the May 16 coup in 1961, which effectively overthrew the Second Republic of Korea.

President of the Third Republic

3	-	Park Chung-hee Bak Jeonghui 박정희 朴正熙 (1917–1979)	5	17 December 1963	30 June 1967	1963 — 46.6%	Democratic Republican

6	1 July 1967	30 June 1971	1967 — 51.4%

7	1 July 1971	26 December 1972	1971 — 53.2%

The only President of the Third Republic of Korea. Successfully industrialized South Korea and improved the economy significantly.

Presidents of the Fourth Republic

(3)	-	Park Chung-hee Bak Jeonghui 박정희 朴正熙 (1917–1979)	8	27 December 1972	26 December 1978	1972 — 99.9%	Democratic Republican

9	27 December 1978	26 October 1979	1978 — 99.9%

The first President of the Fourth Republic of Korea. Assassinated by Kim Jae-kyu, the director of Korean Central Intelligence Agency (KCIA).

During this interval, Prime Minister Choi Kyu-hah (최규하 / 崔圭夏), was Acting President.

4	-	Choi Kyu-hah Choe Gyuha 최규하 崔圭夏 (1919–2006)	10	6 December 1979	16 August 1980	1979 — 96.7%	Independent

The second President of the Fourth Republic of Korea. Chun Doo-hwan took de facto control over the country by leading Coup d'état of December Twelfth in 1979.

During this interval, Acting Prime Minister Pak Choong-hoon (박충훈 / 朴忠勳), was Acting President.

5	-	Chun Doo-hwan Jeon Duhwan 전두환 全斗煥 (1931–)	11	1 September 1980	25 February 1981	1980 — 99.9%	Democratic Justice

The third President of the Fourth Republic of Korea.

President of the Fifth Republic

(5)	-	Chun Doo-hwan Jeon Duhwan 전두환 全斗煥 (1931–)	12	25 February 1981	25 February 1988	1981 — 90.2%	Democratic Justice

The only President of the Fifth Republic of Korea.

Presidents of the Sixth Republic

6	-	Roh Tae-woo No Taeu 노태우 盧泰愚 (1932–)	13	25 February 1988	25 February 1993	1987 — 36.6% 8,282,738	Democratic Justice (1987–1990) Democratic Liberal (1990–1992) Independent (1992-1993)

The first Administration of the Sixth Republic of South Korea and the first president after the introduction of direct free and fair elections.

7	-	Kim Young-sam Gim Yeongsam 김영삼 金泳三 (1927–2015)	14	25 February 1993	25 February 1998	1992 — 42.0% 9,977,332	Democratic Liberal (1993–1995) New Korea (1995–1997) Independent (1997-1998)

The second Administration of the Sixth Republic of South Korea. The first democratic activist to be elected president.

8	-	Kim Dae-jung Gim Daejung 김대중 金大中 (1924–2009)	15	25 February 1998	25 February 2003	1997 — 40.3% 10,326,275	NCNP (1998–2000) New Millennium Democratic (2000–2002) Independent (2002-2003)

The third Administration of the Sixth Republic of South Korea. The second democratic activist President of South Korea.

9	-	Roh Moo-hyun No Muhyeon 노무현 盧武鉉 (1946–2009)	16	25 February 2003	25 February 2008	2002 — 48.91% 12,014,277	Millennium Democratic (2003) Uri (2004–2007) Independent (2007-2008)

From 12 March 2004 until 14 May 2004, Prime Minister Goh Kun (고건 / 高建) served as an Acting President for Roh Moo-hyun.

The fourth Administration of the Sixth Republic of South Korea. The second liberal/centrist President of the Sixth Republic.

10	-	Lee Myung-bak I (Yi) Myeongbak 이명박 李明博 (1941–)	17	25 February 2008	25 February 2013	2007 — 48.7% 11,492,389	Grand National (2008–2012) Saenuri (New World) (2012–2013)

The fifth Administration of the Sixth Republic of South Korea. Lee implemented a tougher policy with regard to North Korea, through the MB Doctrine.

11	-	Park Geun-hye Bak Geunhye 박근혜 朴槿惠 (1952–)	18	25 February 2013	10 March 2017	2012 — 51.6% 15,773,128	Saenuri (New World) (2013–2017) Liberty Korea (2017)

From 9 December 2016 until 10 March 2017, Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn (황교안 / 黃敎安) served as an Acting President for Park Geun-hye.

The sixth Administration of the Sixth Republic of South Korea. Park is a daughter of former President Park Chung-hee, and she was the first female President of South Korea.

During this interval, Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn (황교안 / 黃敎安) was Acting President.

12	-	Moon Jae-in Mun Jaein 문재인 文在寅 (1953–)	19	10 May 2017	Incumbent	2017 — 41.1% 13,423,800	Democratic

The seventh President of the Sixth Republic of South Korea. The third liberal President of South Korea.

Sentence(s)

Park was the first woman to be President of South Korea.

final_sentence: Park was the first woman to be President of South Korea.