# Mayor of Gwangju

The Mayor of Gwangju (Korean: 광주광역시장; Hanja: 光州廣域市長) is the head of the local government of Gwangju who is elected to a four-year term.

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

From 1945 to 1995, the Mayor of Gwangju was appointed by the President of the Republic of Korea.

### Directly elected mayors (1995–present)

Since 1995, under provisions of the revised Local Government Act, the Mayor of Gwangju 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 | | Song Un-jong [ko] 송언종 宋彦鐘 (born 1937) | 1 July 1995 | 30 June 1998 | 3 years, 0 days | | Democratic → National Congress | 1995 |
| 2nd | | Goh Jae-yu 고재유 高在維 (born 1938) | 1 July 1998 | 30 June 2002 | 4 years, 0 days | | National Congress → Millennium Democratic | 1998 |
| 3rd | | Park Gwang-tae [ko] 박광태 朴光泰 (born 1943) | 1 July 2002 | 30 June 2010 | 8 years, 0 days | | Millennium Democratic → Democratic ('00) → Democratic ('08) | 2002 |
| 4th | | Park Gwang-tae [ko] 박광태 朴光泰 (born 1943) | 1 July 2002 | 30 June 2010 | 8 years, 0 days | | Millennium Democratic → Democratic ('00) → Democratic ('08) | 2006 |
| 5th | | Kang Woon-tae [ko] 강운태 姜雲太 (born 1948) | 1 July 2010 | 30 June 2014 | 4 years, 0 days | | Democratic ('08) → Democratic United → Democratic ('11) → NPAD | 2010 |
| 6th | | Yoon Jang-hyun [ko] 윤장현 尹壯鉉 (born 1949) | 1 July 2014 | 30 June 2018 | 4 years, 0 days | | NPAD → Democratic | 2014 |
| 7th | | Lee Yong-seop 이용섭 李庸燮 (born 1951) | 1 July 2018 | 30 June 2022 | 4 years, 0 days | | Democratic | 2018 |
| 8th | | Kang Gi-jung [ko] 강기정 姜琪正 (born 1964) | 1 July 2022 | Incumbent | 2 years, 101 days | | Democratic | 2022 |

## Elections

Source:

### 1995

1995 Gwangju mayoral election :
| Party | Party | # | Candidate | Votes | Percentage | Percentage |
| | Democratic | 2 | Song Un-jong | 469,570 | 89.71% | |
| | Democratic Liberal | 1 | Kim Dong-hwan | 53,817 | 10.28% | |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | 523,387 | 100.00% | 100.00% |
| Voter turnout | Voter turnout | Voter turnout | Voter turnout | 64.82% | 64.82% | 64.82% |

### 1998

1998 Gwangju mayoral election :
| Party | Party | # | Candidate | Votes | Percentage | Percentage |
| | National Congress | 2 | Goh Jae-yu | 261,578 | 67.20% | |
| | Independent | 4 | Lee Seung-chae | 127,626 | 32.79% | |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | 389,204 | 100.00% | 100.00% |
| Voter turnout | Voter turnout | Voter turnout | Voter turnout | 45.07% | 45.07% | 45.07% |

### 2002

2002 Gwangju mayoral election :
| Party | Party | # | Candidate | Votes | Percentage | Percentage |
| | Millennium Democratic | 2 | Park Gwang-tae | 185,938 | 46.81% | |
| | Independent | 5 | Chung Dong-nyun | 107,415 | 27.04% | |
| | Grand National | 1 | Lee Hwan-eui | 43,695 | 11.00% | |
| | Democratic Labor | 3 | Park Jong-hyun | 29,427 | 7.40% | |
| | Independent | 6 | Chung Ho-sun | 20,796 | 5.23% | |
| | Independent | 4 | Chung Koo-sun | 9,877 | 2.48% | |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | 397,148 | 100.00% | 100.00% |
| Voter turnout | Voter turnout | Voter turnout | Voter turnout | 42.31% | 42.31% | 42.31% |

### 2006

2006 Gwangju mayoral election :
| Party | Party | # | Candidate | Votes | Percentage | Percentage |
| | Democratic | 3 | Park Gwang-tae | 239,884 | 51.61% | |
| | Uri | 1 | Cho Young-taek | 157,756 | 33.94% | |
| | Democratic Labor | 4 | Oh Byung-yoon | 48,617 | 10.46% | |
| | Grand National | 2 | Han Young | 18,461 | 3.97% | |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | 464,718 | 100.00% | 100.00% |
| Voter turnout | Voter turnout | Voter turnout | Voter turnout | 46.26% | 46.26% | 46.26% |

### 2010

2010 Gwangju mayoral election :
| Party | Party | # | Candidate | Votes | Percentage | Percentage |
| | Democratic | 2 | Kang Woon-tae | 297,003 | 56.73% | |
| | Participation | 8 | Chung Chan-yong | 75,830 | 14.48% | |
| | Grand National | 1 | Chung Yong-hwa | 74,490 | 14.22% | |
| | Democratic Labor | 5 | Chang Won-seop | 39,455 | 7.53% | |
| | New Progressive | 7 | Yoon Nan-sil | 30,834 | 5.89% | |
| | Peace Democratic | 9 | Cho Hong-kyu | 5,871 | 1.12% | |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | 523,483 | 100.00% | 100.00% |
| Voter turnout | Voter turnout | Voter turnout | Voter turnout | 49.76% | 49.76% | 49.76% |

### 2014

2014 Gwangju mayoral election :
| Party | Party | # | Candidate | Votes | Percentage | Percentage |
| | NPAD | 2 | Yoon Jang-hyun | 367,203 | 57.85% | |
| | Independent | 5 | Kang Woon-tae | 201,666 | 31.77% | |
| | Saenuri | 1 | Lee Jung-jae | 21,614 | 3.40% | |
| | Unified Progressive | 3 | Yoon Min-ho | 21,200 | 3.34% | |
| | Independent | 7 | Lee Byung-wan | 16,249 | 2.56% | |
| | Labor | 4 | Lee Byung-hoon | 6,785 | 1.06% | |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | 634,717 | 100.00% | 100.00% |
| Voter turnout | Voter turnout | Voter turnout | Voter turnout | 57.10% | 57.10% | 57.10% |

### 2018

2018 Gwangju mayoral election :
| Party | Party | # | Candidate | Votes | Percentage | Percentage |
| | Democratic | 1 | Lee Yong-seop | 573,995 | 84.07% | |
| | Justice | 5 | Na Gyung-che | 40,916 | 5.99% | |
| | Bareunmirae | 3 | Jeon Duk-young | 34,487 | 5.05% | |
| | Minjung | 6 | Yoon Min-ho | 33,312 | 4.87% | |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | 682,710 | 100.00% | 100.00% |
| Voter turnout | Voter turnout | Voter turnout | Voter turnout | 59.22% | 59.22% | 59.22% |

### 2022

2022 Gwangju mayoral election :
| Party | Party | # | Candidate | Votes | Percentage | Percentage |
| | Democratic | 1 | Kang Gi-jung | 334,699 | 74.91% | |
| | People Power | 2 | Joo Ki-hwan | 71,062 | 15.90% | |
| | Justice | 3 | Jang Yeun-ju | 21,070 | 4.71% | |
| | Progressive | 5 | Kim Ju-eop | 16,595 | 3.71% | |
| | Basic Income | 4 | Moon Hyeon-chul | 3,344 | 0.74% | |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | 446,770 | 100.00% | 100.00% |
| Voter turnout | Voter turnout | Voter turnout | Voter turnout | 37.66% | 37.66% | 37.66% |