List of presidents of South Korea

Since the establishment of the Government of the Republic of Korea, commonly known as South Korea, in 1948, twelve people have served nineteen terms as president of South Korea. Under the Constitution of South Korea, the president is the country's head of state as well as its head of government. The president is also the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces.

Presidential Standard and Seal of the President of South Korea

• Top left: Rhee Syng-man became the first president of the Republic of Korea in 1948.
• Top right: Park Chung-hee was the longest-serving president, taking power during the 1961 coup d'etat, sometimes named the Tiger of Yushin Constitution in the 1970s.
• Bottom left: Kim Dae-jung was elected during the 1997 presidential election. This was the first peaceful transfer of power in South Korean history.
• Bottom right: Moon Jae-in, the incumbent officeholder, has held office since 2017.

Prior to the establishment of the First Republic in 1948, the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea established in Shanghai in September 1919 as the continuation of several governments proclaimed in the aftermath of March 1st Movement earlier that year coordinated Korean people's resistance against Japan during the Japanese occupation of Korea. The legitimacy of the Provisional Government has been recognised and succeeded by South Korea in the latter's original Constitution of 1948 and the current Constitution of 1988. Nine people have served twenty-four terms as Heads of State (with varying titles) of the Provisional Government between September 1919 and August 1948.

The presidential term has been set at five years since 1988. It was previously set at four years from 1948 to 1972, six years from 1972 to 1981, and seven years from 1981 to 1988. Since 1981, the president has been barred from reelection. The president must be a South Korean citizen, at least 40 years old, who has lived in South Korea for 5 years.