This article lists the prime ministers of South Korea, from the First Republic founded in 1948 to the present-day Sixth Republic.
The current prime minister is Han Seong-sook, having taken office on 1 July 2026 after being appointed by President Lee Jae Myung and confirmed by the National Assembly.
Prime ministers
First Republic (1948–1960) The First Republic was founded on 15 August 1948, as the first independent republican government in Korea. A bicameral legislature under a Presidential system was established, and Syngman Rhee was elected as the first president. During this period, Rhee centralized the operation of the state under his administration, with any constitutional checks the Prime Minister was to provide being superseded under his increasingly authoritarian control. This period of autocracy came to an end in 1960 when a student revolt known as the April Revolution forced the resignation of Rhee.
Portrait Name Term Party President Took office Left office Time in office1Lee Beom-seok31 July194820 April1950National YouthSyngman RheeHo Chong Independent — Shin Song-mo 21 April1950 22 November1950 Independent 2 Chang Myon 23 November1950 23 April1952 Liberal — Ho Chong 6 November1951 9 April1952 Independent — Yi Yun-yong 24 April1952 5 May1952 Independent 3 Chang Taek-sang 6 May1952 5 October1952 Independent 4 Paik Too-chin 9 October1952 17 June1954 Independent 5 Pyon Yong-tae 27 June1954 28 November1954 Independent — 18 November1954 28 November1954 IndependentPosition abolished — Ho Chong 25 April1960 15 June1960 Independent
Second Republic (1960–1961) Following the collapse of Rhee's administration. Ho Chong served as prime minister under a caretaker government to develop a new constitution. This new system diminished the role of President to a ceremonial head of state while elevating the role of Prime Minister to the head of government under a parliamentary system. As leader of the Rhee opposition, Chang Myon was elected by the House of Representatives to be the new Prime Minister.
Portrait Name Term Party President Took office Left office Time in office6Ho Chong15 June196018 August1960Independent Kwak Sang-hoonHo ChongBaek Nak-junYun Po-sun 7 Chang Myon 19 August1960 16 May1961 Democratic (1955)
Supreme Council for National Reconstruction (1961–1963) The change in government brought about by the end of the First Republic failed to immediately address growing economic concerns, and the loosening of democratic processes produced growing political instability. Major general Park Chung Hee of the ROK Army led a coup d'état against the Second Republic, and established a military junta, with himself as de facto dictator.
Portrait Name Term Party President Took office Left office Time in office — Chang Myon 16 May1961 18 May1961 Democratic (1955)Yun Po-sunPark Chung Hee — Chang Do-yong 20 May1961 3 July1961 Military — Song Yo-chan 3 July1961 16 June1962 Military — Park Chung Hee 18 June1962 10 July1962 Military — Kim Hyun-chul 10 July1962 17 December1963 Independent
Third Republic (1963–1972) Facing international diplomatic pressure from its allies, Park pledged to hold democratic elections and stepped down from his military position to run in the 1963 presidential election which he won. A new system of government was inaugurated, under a unicameral legislature which restored the Presidency to the head of government above the Prime Minister.
Portrait Name Term Party President Took office Left office Time in office 8 Choi Tu-son 17 December1963 9 May1964 IndependentPark Chung Hee 9 Chung Il-kwon 10 May1964 20 December1970 Independent 10 Paik Too-chin 21 December1970 3 June1971 Democratic Republican 11 Kim Jong-pil 4 June1971 21 November1972 Democratic Republican
Fourth Republic (1972–1981) Under the terms of the Third Republic, the president was limited to two terms in office. However, in 1969, Park pushed through an amendment which allowed him to run for a third term in 1971. His Democratic Republican Party, while still taking a majority of the National Assembly, fell short of the two-thirds majority required to push through more constitutional amendments. In October 1972, in what's known as the October Restoration, Park declared martial law and dissolved the National Assembly. A new constitution, the Yushin Constitution, was drafted which further expanded the presidential powers and solidified Park's status as dictator.
Portrait Name Term Party President Took office Left office Time in office 11 Kim Jong-pil 21 November1972 18 December1975 Democratic RepublicanPark Chung HeeChoi Kyu-hah 12 Choi Kyu-hah 19 December1975 5 December1979 Independent — Shin Hyun-hwak 15 November1979 22 November1979 Democratic RepublicanChoi Kyu-hahPark Choong-hoon — Han-bin Lee 5 December1979 20 December1979 Independent 13 Shin Hyun-hwak 20 December1979 22 May1980 Democratic Republican — Park Choong-hoon 22 May1980 1 September1980 Democratic Republican 14 Nam Duck-woo 2 September1980 24 February1981 Independent Chun Doo-hwan
Fifth Republic (1981–1988) On 26 October 1979, President Park was assassinated by the head of the Korean Central Intelligence Agency (KCIA) Kim Jae-gyu. As Prime minister, Choi Kyu-hah became acting president and began promising a repeal of the Yushin Constitution and a return to democratic elections. However, the military staged a series of coups in December 1979 and May 1980 through which Choi was reduced to a figure-head status until his resignation in August 1980. The leader of the coups, Chun Doo-hwan was then elected president and a new constitution was established, that while nominally less authoritarian still granted the president the ability to suspend civil liberties under "emergency powers".
Portrait Name Term Party President Took office Left office Time in office 14 Nam Duck-woo 25 February1981 3 January1982 IndependentChun Doo-hwan 15 Yoo Chang-soon 4 January1982 24 June1982 Independent 16 Kim Sang-hyup 25 June1982 14 October1983 Independent 17 Chin Iee-chong 15 October1983 18 February1985 Democratic Justice — 11 November1984 18 February1985 Democratic Justice 18 Lho Shin-yong 19 February1985 25 May1987 Democratic Justice — 26 May1987 13 July1987 Independent 19 Kim Chung-yul 14 July1987 24 February1988 Independent
Sixth Republic (1988–present) In response to a growing anti-government movement known as the June Democratic Struggle, in 1987, free and open elections were held for the first time since the Second Republic. A new constitution was approved and the current political structure of the nation was established.
Portrait Name Term Party President Took office Left office Time in office 20 Lee Hyun-jae 25 February1988 4 December1988 IndependentRoh Tae-woo21Kang Young-hoon5 December198826 December1990 Democratic Justice Democratic Liberal 22 Ro Jai-bong 27 December1990 23 May1991 Democratic Liberal 23 Chung Won-shik 24 May1991 7 October1992 Independent 24 Hyun Soong-jong 8 October1992 24 February1993 Independent 25 Hwang In-sung 25 February1993 16 December1993 Democratic LiberalKim Young-sam 26 Lee Hoi-chang 17 December1993 21 April1994 Independent 27 Lee Yung-dug 22 April1994 16 December1994 Independent 28 Lee Hong-koo 17 December1994 17 December1995 year Independent 29 Lee Soo-sung 18 December1995 4 March1997 New Korea30Goh Kun5 March19972 March1998 New KoreaGrand NationalKim Dae-jung 31 Kim Jong-pil 3 March1998 12 January2000 United Liberal Democrats 32 Park Tae-joon 13 January2000 18 May2000 United Liberal Democrats — Lee Hun-jai 19 May2000 22 May2000 Independent 33 Lee Han-dong 23 May2000 10 July2002 United Liberal Democrats — Chang Sang 11 July2002 31 July2002 Independent — 31 July2002 9 August2002 Independent — Chang Dae-whan 9 August2002 10 September2002 Independent34Kim Suk-soo10 September200226 February2003IndependentRoh Moo-hyunGoh Kun 35 Goh Kun 27 February2003 24 July2004 Independent — Lee Hun-jai 25 July2004 30 July2004 Independent 36 Lee Hae-chan 30 July2004 15 March2006 Uri — Han Duck-soo 16 March2006 19 April2006 Independent 37 Han Myeong-sook 20 April2006 6 March2007 Uri — Kwon O-kyu 7 March2007 2 April2007 Independent38Han Duck-soo2 April200729 February2008IndependentLee Myung-bak 39 Han Seung-soo 29 February2008 28 September2009 Grand National 40 Chung Un-chan 29 September2009 11 August2010 Independent — Yoon Jeung-hyun 11 August2010 1 October2010 Grand National41Kim Hwang-sik1 October201026 February2013IndependentPark Geun-hyeHwang Kyo-ahn 42 Chung Hong-won 26 February2013 16 February2015 Independent 43 Lee Wan-koo 17 February2015 27 April2015 Saenuri — Choi Kyoung-hwan 27 April2015 18 June2015 Saenuri44Hwang Kyo-ahn18 June201511 May2017IndependentMoon Jae-in — Yoo Il-ho 11 May2017 31 May2017 Liberty Korea 45 Lee Nak-yon 31 May2017 14 January2020 Democratic (2015) 46 Chung Sye-kyun 14 January2020 16 April2021 Democratic (2015) — Hong Nam-ki 16 April2021 13 May2021 Independent47Kim Boo-kyum14 May202111 May2022Democratic (2015)Yoon Suk YeolHan Duck-sooChoi Sang-mokHan Duck-sooLee Ju-ho — Choo Kyung-ho 12 May2022 20 May2022 People Power 48 Han Duck-soo 21 May2022 1 May2025 Independent — Choi Sang-mok 27 December2024 24 March2025 Independent—Lee Ju-ho2 May20254 July2025IndependentLee Jae Myung 49 Kim Min-seok 4 July2025 30 June2026 Democratic (2015) 50 Han Seong-sook 1 July 2026 Incumbent Independent
Timeline
See also Deputy Prime Minister of South Korea List of presidents of South Korea List of prime ministers of Korea
Notes
References
External links Former Prime Ministers Prime Minister 국무총리 (Korean)