The Governor of South Jeolla Province () was the head of the local government of South Jeolla Province who was elected to a four-year term. The office was abolished on 30 June 2026, following the merger of the province with Gwangju. The Mayor of Jeonnam-Gwangju was established as the successor, overseeing the newly created special city.
List of governors Appointed governors (before 1995) From 1946 to 1995, the Governor of South Jeolla Province was appointed by the President of the Republic of Korea.
Directly elected governors (1995–present) From 1995 to 2026, under provisions of the revised Local Government Act, the Governor of South Jeolla Province was elected by direct election.
Political parties Status
Term Portrait Name Term of office Political party Elected Took office Left office Time in office 1st 1 July 1995 30 June 2002 Democratic →National Congress →Millennium Democratic 1995 2nd 1998 3rd 1 July 2002 29 April 2004 Millennium Democratic 2002 30 April 2004 5 June 2004 Independent — 6 June 2004 30 June 2014 Millennium Democratic →Democratic ('00) →Democratic ('08) →Democratic United →Democratic ('11) →NPAD 2004 4th 2006 5th 2010 6th Lee Nak-yon 1 July 2014 12 May 2017 NPAD →Democratic 2014 Kim Gap-seop 13 May 2017 11 September 2017 Independent — Lee Jae-young 12 September 2017 30 June 2018 Independent — 7th Kim Yung-rok 1 July 2018 30 June 2026 Democratic 2018 8th 2022
Elections Source:
1995 1995 South Jeolla gubernatorial election Party # Candidate Votes Percentage Democratic 2 Heo Kyeong-man 769,538 73.50% Democratic Liberal 1 Chun Suk-hong 277,386 26.49% Total 1,046,924 100.00% Voter turnout76.06%
1998 1998 South Jeolla gubernatorial election Party # Candidate Votes Percentage National Congress 2 Heo Kyeong-man 918,300 100.00% Total 918,300 100.00% Voter turnout68.22%
2002 2002 South Jeolla gubernatorial election Party # Candidate Votes Percentage Millennium Democratic 2 Park Tae-young 563,545 57.76% Independent 3 Song Jae-gu 236,558 24.24% Independent 4 Song Ha-sung 89,487 9.17% Grand National 1 Hwang Soo-youn 51,504 5.27% Independent 5 Ahn Su-won 34,439 3.53% Total 975,533 100.00% Voter turnout65.63%
2004 (by-election) 2004 South Jeolla gubernatorial by-election Party # Candidate Votes Percentage Millennium Democratic 4 Park Jun-young 308,299 57.60% Uri 1 Min Hwa-sik 187,168 35.00% Democratic Labor 3 Kim Sun-dong 39,774 7.43% Total 535,241 100.00% Voter turnout36.29%
2006 2006 South Jeolla gubernatorial election Party # Candidate Votes Percentage Democratic 3 Park Jun-young 640,894 67.69% Uri 1 Seo Beom-seok 181,756 19.19% Democratic Labor 4 Park Woong-doo 68,702 7.25% Grand National 2 Park Jae-soon 55,444 5.85% Total 946,796 100.00% Voter turnout64.33%
2010 2010 South Jeolla gubernatorial election Party # Candidate Votes Percentage Democratic 2 Park Jun-young 629,984 68.30% Grand National 1 Kim Dae-sik 123,548 13.39% Democratic Labor 5 Park Woong-doo 100,581 10.90% Peace Democratic 7 Kim Kyung-jae 68,220 7.39% Total 922,333 100.00% Voter turnout64.28%
2014 2014 South Jeolla gubernatorial election Party # Candidate Votes Percentage NPAD 2 Lee Nak-yon 755,233 77.96% Unified Progressive 3 Lee Sung-soo 120,868 12.47% Saenuri 1 Lee Joong-hyo 92,549 9.55% Total 968,650 100.00% Voter turnout65.55%
2018 2018 South Jeolla gubernatorial election Party # Candidate Votes Percentage Democratic 1 Kim Yung-rok 807,902 77.08% Democracy and Peace 4 Min Young-sam 110,973 10.58% Minjung 6 Lee Sung-soo 51,410 4.90% Bareunmirae 3 Park Mae-ho 40,287 3.84% Justice 5 Noh Hyung-tae 37,433 3.57% Total 1,048,005 100.00% Voter turnout69.24%
2022 2022 South Jeolla gubernatorial election Party # Candidate Votes Percentage Democratic 1 Kim Yung-rok 672,433 75.74% People Power 2 Lee Jung-hyun 167,020 18.81% Progressive 4 Min Jeom-ki 48,336 5.44% Total 887,789 100.00% Voter turnout58.44%
See also Government of South Korea Politics of South Korea
References