Prime Minister of South Korea - wikipedia Prime Minister of South Korea Prime Minister of the Republic of Korea 대한민국 국무 총리 Prime ministerial standard Prime ministerial emblem Incumbent Lee Nak - yeon since 31 May 2017 Style Prime Minister ( 총리 님 ) ( informal ) Member of State Council National Security Council Appointer President of South Korea ( Subject to the National Assembly 's approval ) Term length No fixed term Constituting instrument Constitution of South Korea Inaugural holder Lee Beom - seok Formation July 31, 1948 ; 69 years ago ( 1948 - 07 - 31 ) Website ( in English ) pmo.go.kr/ ( in Korean ) pmo.go.kr/ South Korea This article is part of a series on the politics and government of the Republic of Korea Constitution Government President ( list ) Moon Jae - in Prime Minister ( list ) Lee Nak - yeon Deputy Prime Minister Kim Dong - yeon Kim Sang - gon State Council Presidential Secretariat National Assembly Speaker Chung Sye - kyun List of members Judiciary Constitutional Court President : Kim Yi - Su Supreme Court Chief Justice : Yang Sung - tae Elections National Election Commission Recent elections Presidential : 2007 2012 2017 Legislative : 2008 2012 2016 2020 Local : 2006 2014 2018 By - elections : 2011 Political parties Democratic Liberty Korea Party Bareun People 's Justice Related topics Korean reunification Korean conflict Sunshine Policy Administrative divisions Human rights Foreign relations Other countries Atlas Prime Minister of South Korea Hangul 국무 총리 Hanja 國務 總理 Revised Romanization Gungmuchongni McCune -- Reischauer Kungmuch'ongni The Prime Minister of the Republic of Korea ( 국무 총리 / 國務 總理, Gungmuchongni ) is appointed by the President of South Korea, with the National Assembly 's approval. The officeholder is not required to be a member of the National Assembly. The Prime Minister is not the head of government but rather serves in a role similar to that of a vice president. Contents 1 Nomenclature 2 History 3 Functions 4 Lists of Prime Ministers of South Korea 5 See also 6 References 7 External links Nomenclature The Sino - Korean word gungmu ( 국무 / 國務 ) means `` state affairs '' and chongni ( 총리 / 總理 ) means `` prime minister '', `` premier '' or `` chancellor '', so the full title in Korean means literally `` Prime Minister for State Affairs '', but it is not used as official English title. The short title in Korean is just Chongni. History The position was created on 31 July 1948, two weeks before the government of South Korea was founded, and was held by Lee Beom - seok until 1950. The title was Chief Cabinet Minister from 1961 until 1963. On 27 April 2014, Prime Minister Chung Hong - won announced his desire to resign. However, due to unsuccessful nominations, Chung remained in office until February 2015. On 23 January 2015, President Park Geun - hye named Saenuri 's Floor Leader Lee Wan - koo as the new Prime Minister. Lee was confirmed by the National Assembly as Prime Minister on 16 February 2015. However, on April 20 of the same year, he offered his resignation to the President in the midst of a bribery scandal. Functions The Prime Minister is the principal executive assistant to the President, who is the actual head of government, not the prime minister. The Prime Minister holds the second position after the President in the State Council of South Korea, which is the cabinet. The Prime Minister assists the President by supervising ministries, make recommendations for ministers, and is the Vice-Chairman of the Cabinet. The Prime Minister is the first in the order of succession to discharge the duties of the office of the President as the Acting President should the president be unable to discharge her or his office. The most recent person to have served as Acting President was Hwang Kyo - ahn, during the impeachment of Park Geun - hye in 2016. A Prime Minister that has been appointed by the President but not yet confirmed by the National Assembly is known as the acting Prime Minister. The term may also be applied to a Prime Minister that has resigned but in the interim remains in office in a caretaker role. The Prime Minister becomes acting president if the President dies, resigns, or is impeached. The Prime Minister 's Office is supported by two deputy prime ministers. Lists of Prime Ministers of South Korea List of Prime Ministers of South Korea See also Prime Minister of Korea ( 1895 -- 1910 ; Korean Empire ) List of Korea - related topics Politics of South Korea References Jump up ^ `` S. Korean PM resigns over government response to ferry disaster '' AsiaOne. Retrieved 29 September 2016. Jump up ^ `` Parliament endorses PM nominee '' Yonhap News Agency. Retrieved 29 September 2016. Jump up ^ The Associated Press ( 21 April 2015 ). `` S. Korean PM to resign after 2 months amid bribe scandal ''. The Yomiuri Shimbun. Jump up ^ `` Government > Executive Branch '' Office for Government Policy Coordination Prime Minister 's Secretariat. Jump up ^ `` Government > Organization Chart '' Office for Government Policy Coordination Prime Minister 's Secretariat. External links Prime Minister 's Office South Korea at worldstatesmen.org Prime Ministers of South Korea ( List ) Lee Beom - seok Shin Sung - mo Chang Myon Heo Jeong Yi Yun - yong Chang Taek - sang Paik Too - chin Paik Too - chin Pyon Yong - tae Paek Han - song post abolished, 1954 -- 1960 Ho Chong Chang Myon Jang Do - young Song Yo - chan Park Chung - hee Kim Hyun - chul Choi Tu - son Chung Il - kwon Paik Too - chin Kim Jong - pil Choi Kyu - hah Choi Kyu - hah Shin Hyun - hwak Pak Choong - hoon Nam Duck - woo Nam Duck - woo Yoo Chang - soon Yoo Chang - soon Kim Sang - hyup Kim Sang - hyup Chin Iee - chong Chin Iee - chong Shin Byung - hyun Lho Shin - yong Lho Shin - yong Lee Han - key Kim Chung - yul Kim Chung - yul Lee Hyun - jae Lee Hyun - jae Kang Young - hoon Kang Young - hoon Ro Jai - bong Ro Jai - bong Chung Won - shik Chung Won - shik Hyun Soong - jong Hwang In - sung Lee Hoi - chang Lee Yung - dug Lee Hong - koo Lee Soo - sung Goh Kun Kim Jong - pil Kim Jong - pil Park Tae - joon Lee Han - dong Lee Han - dong Chang Sang Chang Dae - whan Kim Suk - soo Kim Suk - soo Goh Kun Lee Hae - chan Han Myeong - sook Han Duck - soo Han Seung - soo Chung Un-chan Yoon Jeung - hyun Kim Hwang - sik Chung Hong - won Lee Wan - koo Choi Kyoung - hwan Hwang Kyo - ahn Yoo Il - ho Lee Nak - yeon Italics indicate acting Prime Ministers ; small caps indicate military Prime Ministers Leaders of Korea Italics indicate an acting leader Korean government - in - exile ( 1919 -- 1948 ) Syngman Rhee Yi Dong - nyeong Park Eun - sik Park Eun - sik Yi Yu - pil Yi Sang - ryong Yang Gi - tak Yi Dong - nyeong Ahn Changho Yi Dong - nyeong Hong Jin Kim Koo Yi Dong - nyeong Song Byeong - jo Yi Dong - nyeong Kim Koo Syngman Rhee Divided Korea ( since 1945 ) Democratic People 's Republic of Korea Supreme Leaders Kim Il - sung Kim Jong - il Kim Jong - un Heads of state Kim Tu - bong Choe Yong - gon Kim Il - sung Yang Hyong - sop Kim Yong - nam Heads of government Kim Il - sung Kim Il Pak Song - chol Ri Jong - ok Kang Song - san Ri Kun - mo Yon Hyong - muk Kang Song - san Hong Song - nam Hong Song - nam Pak Pong - ju Kim Yong - il Choe Yong - rim Pak Pong - ju Republic of Korea Heads of state and government Syngman Rhee Heo Jeong Kwak Sang - hoon Baek Nak - jun Yun Posun Park Chung - hee Park Chung - hee Choi Kyu - hah Choi Kyu - hah Pak Choong - hoon Chun Doo - hwan Roh Tae - woo Kim Young - sam Kim Dae - jung Roh Moo - hyun Goh Kun Roh Moo - hyun Lee Myung - bak Park Geun - hye Hwang Kyo - ahn Moon Jae - in Prime minister Prime Ministers by country Abkhazia Afghanistan Albania Algeria Angola Antigua and Barbuda Armenia Artsakh Aruba Australia Azerbaijan Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Bermuda Bhutan Bosnia and Herzegovina Brazil Bulgaria Burkina Faso Cambodia Cameroon Canada Cape Verde Central African Republic Chad Congo ( Kinshasa ) Cook Islands Croatia Cuba Curaçao Northern Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Djibouti Dominica East Timor Egypt Equatorial Guinea Estonia Faroe Islands Fiji Finland France Ghana Georgia Greece Greenland Grenada Guinea Guyana Haiti Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iran Iraq Ireland Israel Italy Jamaica Japan Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya North Korea South Korea Kosovo Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Latvia Lebanon Lithuania Luxembourg Macedonia Malaysia Malta Mauritius Moldova Mongolia Montenegro Morocco Myanmar ( Burma ) Nagorno - Karabakh Namibia Nepal Netherlands New Zealand Niue Norway Pakistan Papua New Guinea Peru Philippines Poland Portugal Qatar Romania Russia Rwanda Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Samoa São Tomé and Principe Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia Seychelles Singapore Sint Maarten Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia South Africa South Ossetia Spain Sri Lanka Sudan Swaziland Sweden Syria Taiwan ( Republic of China ) Tajikistan Tanzania Thailand Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkmenistan Turkey Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom Uzbekistan Vanuatu Vietnam Yemen Western Sahara Zambia Zimbabwe Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Prime_Minister_of_South_Korea&oldid=843506519 '' Categories : Prime Ministers of South Korea Government of South Korea Hidden categories : Articles with Korean - language external links Articles containing Korean - language text Talk Contents About Wikipedia Català Deutsch Eesti Español Français 한국어 Қазақша Bahasa Melayu 日本 語 Polski Português Русский Tagalog Tiếng Việt 中文 6 more Edit links This page was last edited on 29 May 2018, at 16 : 00. 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Question: who is the prime minister of south korea 2018
Answer: Lee Nak-yeon