The Minister of Finance and Economy () is a member of the Cabinet of South Korea and is the leader and chief executive of the Ministry of Finance and Economy. In Korea, all minister nominees are required to undergo congressional confirmation hearings, though the consent of the National Assembly is only necessary for the prime minister, who nominates cabinet ministers.
The Ministry of Finance and Economy precedes a series of historical agencies. From 1948 to 1994, the Ministry of Finance oversaw the financial affairs of the Republic of Korea. In 1961, the was created to centralize the South Korean industry under the Park Chung Hee regime. In 1994, the two agencies were merged to create the Ministry of Finance and Economy (재정경제원, 19941998).
Following the 1997 Asian financial crisis, the Ministry of Finance and Economy was reformed into two new agencies, the cabinet-level Ministry of Finance and Economy (재정경제부, 19982008) and the National Budget Administration (예산청). In 2008, the Ministry of Finance and Economy and Ministry of Budget and Planning merged together to form the Ministry of Economy and Finance. In 2026, the Lee Jae Myung administration once again divided the Ministry of Economy and Finance into the Ministry of Finance and Economy and the Ministry of Planning and Budget.
List Portrait Name Term of office President Took office Left office Time in office 1 Koo Yun-cheol 2 January 2026 22 September 2026 Lee Jae Myung 2 22 September 2026 Incumbent
List of ministers from preceding agencies
Minister of Finance (1948–1994) Portrait Name Term of office President Took office Left office Time in office 1 Kim Do-yeon 2 August 1948 22 April 1950 First Republic of Korea 2 Choi Sun-ju 25 April 1950 5 March 1951 3 Baek Du-jin 5 March 1951 9 September 1953 4 Park Hui-hyeon 9 September 1953 30 June 1954 5 Lee Jung-jyae 30 June 1954 11 July 1955 6 Kim Hyeon-chul 11 July 1955 26 May 1956 7 In Tae-sik 26 May 1956 9 June 1957 8 Kim Hyeon-chul 9 June 1957 20 March 1959 9 Song In-sang 20 March 1959 28 April 1960 10 Yun Ho-byeong 28 April 1960 19 August 1960 11 Kim Young-sun 23 August 1960 18 May 1961 Second Republic of Korea 12 Paik Sun-jin 20 May 1961 22 June 1961 Supreme Councilfor National Reconstruction 13 Kim Yu-taek 22 June 1961 16 July 1961 14 Chun Byung-kyu 22 July 1961 16 June 1962 15 Kim Se-ryun 18 June 1962 8 February 1963 16 Hwang Jong-ryul 8 February 1963 16 December 1963 17 Park Dong-kyu17 December 196326 June 1964 Third Republic of Korea 18 Rhie Jung-hwan26 June 19645 December 1964 19 Hong Seung-hi5 December 196416 November 1965 20 Kim Chung-yum25 November 196526 September 1966 21 Kim Hak-ryeol26 September 196627 December 1966 22 Suh Bong-kyun27 December 196621 May 1968 23 Hwang Jong-ryul21 May 196821 October 1969 24 Nam Duck-woo 21 October 1969 18 September 1974 Fourth Republic of Korea25 Kim Yong-hwan 18 September 1974 22 December 1978 26 Kim Won-ki 22 December 1978 22 May 1980 27 Lee Seung-yun 22 May 1980 4 January 1982 28 Rha Woong-bae 4 January 1982 24 June 1982 Fifth Republic of Korea 29 Kang Kyong-shik 24 June 1982 15 October 1983 30 Kim Mahn-je 15 October 1983 8 January 1986 31 Chung In-yong 8 January 1986 26 May 1987 32 Sakong Il 26 May 1987 4 December 1988 Roh Tae-woo 33 Lee Kyu-sung 5 December 1988 18 March 1990 34 Chung Yung-euy 19 March 1990 26 May 1991 35 Rhee Yong-man 27 May 1991 24 February 1993 36 Hong Jae-hyong 25 February 1993 4 October 1994 Kim Young-sam 37 Park Jae-yoon 5 October 1994 23 December 1994
Minister of Finance and Economy (1994–1998) Portrait Name Term of office President Took office Left office Time in office Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and Economy (1994–1998) 1 Hong Jae-hyong 23 December 1994 20 December 1995 Kim Young-sam 2 Rha Woong-bae 20 December 1995 8 August 1996 3 Han Seung-soo 8 August 1996 5 March 1997 4 Kang Kyong-shik 5 March 1997 19 November 1997 5 Lim Chang-yuel 19 November 1997 5 March 1998
Minister of Finance and Economy (1998–2008) Portrait Name Term of office President Took office Left office Time in office Minister of Finance and Economy (1998–2001) 1 Lee Kyu-sung 5 March 1998 24 May 1999 Kim Dae-jung 2 Kang Bong-kyun 24 May 1999 14 January 2000 3 Lee Hun-jai 14 January 2000 7 August 2000 Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and Economy (2001–2008) 1 Jin Nyum 7 August 2000 15 April 2002 Kim Dae-jung 2 Jeon Yun-churl 15 April 2002 27 February 2003 3 Kim Jin-pyo 27 February 2003 10 February 2004 Roh Moo-hyun 4 Lee Hun-jai 10 February 2004 7 March 2005 5 Han Duck-soo 14 March 2005 18 July 2006 6 Kwon O-kyu 18 July 2006 29 February 2008
Minister of Economy and Finance (2008–2026) Portrait Name Term of office President Took office Left office Time in office Minister of Economy and Finance (2008–2013) 1 Kang Man-soo 29 February 2008 9 February 2009 Lee Myung-bak 2 Yoon Jeung-hyun 10 February 2009 1 June 2011 3 Bahk Jae-wan 2 June 2011 22 March 2013 Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance (2013–2025) 1 Hyun Oh-seok 22 March 2013 14 July 2014 Park Geun-hye 2 Choi Kyoung-hwan 15 July 2014 12 January 2016 3 Yoo Il-ho 13 January 2016 8 June 2017 4 Kim Dong-yeon 9 June 2017 10 December 2018 Moon Jae-in 5 Hong Nam-ki 11 December 2018 10 May 2022 6 Choo Kyung-ho 10 May 2022 29 December 2023 Yoon Suk-yeol 7 Choi Sang-mok 29 December 2023 1 May 2025 8 Koo Yun-cheol 19 July 2025 2 January 2026 Lee Jae Myung
See also
Ministry of Economy and Finance (South Korea) Economy of South Korea Bank of Korea Statistics Korea Korea Financial Investment Association
References