# Governor of Gangwon State

The Governor of Gangwon State (Korean: 강원특별자치도지사; Hanja: 江原特別自治道知事) is the head of the local government of Gangwon State who is elected to a four-year term.

## List of governors
### Appointed governors (before 1995)

From 1945 to 1995, the Governor of North Gyeongsang Province was appointed by the President of the Republic of Korea.

### Directly elected governors (1995–present)

Since 1995, under provisions of the revised Local Government Act, the Governor of North Gyeongsang Province is elected by direct election.
| Term | Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) | Term of office | Term of office | Term of office | Political party | Political party | Elected |
| Term | Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Political party | Political party | Elected |
| 1st | | Choi Gak-gyu [ko] 최각규 崔珏圭 (born 1933) | 1 July 1995 | 30 June 1998 | 3 years, 0 days | | United Liberal Democrats → New Korea → Grand National | 1995 |
| 2nd | | Kim Jin-sun 김진선 金振兟 (born 1946) | 1 July 1998 | 30 June 2010 | 12 years, 0 days | | Grand National | 1998 |
| 3rd | | Kim Jin-sun 김진선 金振兟 (born 1946) | 1 July 1998 | 30 June 2010 | 12 years, 0 days | | Grand National | 2002 |
| 4th | | Kim Jin-sun 김진선 金振兟 (born 1946) | 1 July 1998 | 30 June 2010 | 12 years, 0 days | | Grand National | 2006 |
| 5th | | Kang Ki-chang [ko] 강기창 姜起敞 (born 1955) Acting | 1 July 2010 | 2 September 2010 | 64 days | | Independent | — |
| 5th | | Lee Kwang-jae 이광재 李光宰 (born 1965) | 3 September 2010 | 27 January 2011 | 211 days | | Democratic | 2010 |
| 5th | | Kang Ki-chang [ko] 강기창 姜起敞 (born 1955) Acting | 28 January 2011 | 27 April 2011 | 90 days | | Independent | — |
| 5th | | Choi Moon-soon 최문순 崔文洵 (born 1956) | 28 April 2011 | 30 June 2022 | 11 years, 64 days | | Democratic ('08) → Democratic United → Democratic ('11) → NPAD → Democratic ('14) | 2011 (by-el.) |
| 6th | | Choi Moon-soon 최문순 崔文洵 (born 1956) | 28 April 2011 | 30 June 2022 | 11 years, 64 days | | Democratic ('08) → Democratic United → Democratic ('11) → NPAD → Democratic ('14) | 2014 |
| 7th | | Choi Moon-soon 최문순 崔文洵 (born 1956) | 28 April 2011 | 30 June 2022 | 11 years, 64 days | | Democratic ('08) → Democratic United → Democratic ('11) → NPAD → Democratic ('14) | 2018 |
| 8th | | Kim Jin-tae 김진태 金鎭台 (born 1964) | 1 July 2022 | Incumbent | 2 years, 100 days | | People Power | 2022 |

## Elections

Source:

### 1995

1995 Gangwon gubernatorial election :
| Party | Party | # | Candidate | Votes | Percentage | Percentage |
| | United Liberal Democrats | 2 | Choi Gak-gyu | 500,894 | 65.82% | |
| | Democratic Liberal | 1 | Lee Sang-ryong | 260,004 | 34.17% | |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | 760,898 | 100.00% | 100.00% |
| Voter turnout | Voter turnout | Voter turnout | Voter turnout | 74.77% | 74.77% | 74.77% |

### 1998

1998 Gangwon gubernatorial election :
| Party | Party | # | Candidate | Votes | Percentage | Percentage |
| | Grand National | 1 | Kim Jin-sun | 268,559 | 39.27% | |
| | United Liberal Democrats | 3 | Han Ho-sun | 231,376 | 33.84% | |
| | Independent | 4 | Lee Sang-ryong | 183,775 | 26.87% | |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | 683,710 | 100.00% | 100.00% |
| Voter turnout | Voter turnout | Voter turnout | Voter turnout | 64.27% | 64.27% | 64.27% |

### 2002

2002 Gangwon gubernatorial election :
| Party | Party | # | Candidate | Votes | Percentage | Percentage |
| | Grand National | 1 | Kim Jin-sun | 468,987 | 71.11% | |
| | Millennium Democratic | 2 | Nam Dong-woo | 190,451 | 28.88% | |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | 659,438 | 100.00% | 100.00% |
| Voter turnout | Voter turnout | Voter turnout | Voter turnout | 59.41% | 59.41% | 59.41% |

### 2006

2006 Gangwon gubernatorial election :
| Party | Party | # | Candidate | Votes | Percentage | Percentage |
| | Grand National | 2 | Kim Jin-sun | 471,613 | 70.56% | |
| | Uri | 1 | Lee Chang-bok | 148,302 | 22.19% | |
| | Democratic | 3 | Yoo Jae-gyu | 29,028 | 4.34% | |
| | People First | 5 | Yoo Seung-gyu | 19,383 | 2.90% | |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | 668,326 | 100.00% | 100.00% |
| Voter turnout | Voter turnout | Voter turnout | Voter turnout | 58.71% | 58.71% | 58.71% |

### 2010

2010 Gangwon gubernatorial election :
| Party | Party | # | Candidate | Votes | Percentage | Percentage |
| | Democratic | 2 | Lee Kwang-jae | 388,443 | 54.36% | |
| | Grand National | 1 | Lee Kye-jin | 326,111 | 45.63% | |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | 714,554 | 100.00% | 100.00% |
| Voter turnout | Voter turnout | Voter turnout | Voter turnout | 62.30% | 62.30% | 62.30% |

### 2011 (by-election)

2011 Gangwon gubernatorial by-election :
| Party | Party | # | Candidate | Votes | Percentage | Percentage |
| | Democratic | 2 | Choi Moon-soon | 293,509 | 51.08% | |
| | Grand National | 1 | Ohm Ki-young | 267,538 | 46.56% | |
| | Independent | 8 | Hwang Hak-su | 13,463 | 2.34% | |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | 574,510 | 100.00% | 100.00% |
| Voter turnout | Voter turnout | Voter turnout | Voter turnout | 47.50% | 47.50% | 47.50% |

### 2014

2014 Gangwon gubernatorial election :
| Party | Party | # | Candidate | Votes | Percentage | Percentage |
| | NPAD | 2 | Choi Moon-soon | 381,338 | 49.76% | |
| | Saenuri | 1 | Choi Heung-jip | 369,201 | 48.17% | |
| | Unified Progressive | 3 | Lee Seung-jae | 15,774 | 2.05% | |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | 766,313 | 100.00% | 100.00% |
| Voter turnout | Voter turnout | Voter turnout | Voter turnout | 62.24% | 62.24% | 62.24% |

### 2018

2018 Gangwon gubernatorial election :
| Party | Party | # | Candidate | Votes | Percentage | Percentage |
| | Democratic | 1 | Choi Moon-soon | 518,447 | 64.73% | |
| | Liberty Korea | 2 | Jeong Chang-soo | 282,456 | 35.26% | |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | 800,903 | 100.00% | 100.00% |
| Voter turnout | Voter turnout | Voter turnout | Voter turnout | 63.20% | 63.20% | 63.20% |

### 2022

2022 Gangwon gubernatorial election :
| Party | Party | # | Candidate | Votes | Percentage | Percentage |
| | People Power | 2 | Kim Jin-tae | 409,461 | 54.07% | |
| | Democratic | 1 | Lee Kwang-jae | 347,766 | 45.92% | |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | 757,227 | 100.00% | 100.00% |
| Voter turnout | Voter turnout | Voter turnout | Voter turnout | 57.82% | 57.82% | 57.82% |