Mayor of Seoul

Chief executive of South Korea's capital

Mayor of Seoul

서울특별시장

Logo of the Seoul Metropolitan Government

Incumbent
Oh Se-hoon

since 8 April 2021

Member of|

* State Council

Residence| Mayor's residence, Hannam-dong
Term length| Four years, renewable thrice
Inaugural holder| Kim Hyongmin
Formation| 28 September 1946; 78 years ago (1946-09-28)
Salary| ₩102 million annually
Website| Official website
Mayor of Seoul

Hangul|

서울특별시장

Hanja|

서울特別市長

RR| Seoulteukbyeolsijang
MR| Sŏult'ŭkpyŏlsijang

The mayor of Seoul (Korean: 서울특별시장) is the chief executive of Seoul Metropolitan Government, Seoul being the capital and largest city of South Korea.

The position is historically one of the most powerful in the country, charged with managing an annual budget of 23 trillion won.[1] Many Seoul mayors have gone on to hold higher office. Yun Bo-seon and Lee Myung-bak both went on to become President of the Republic of Korea.

The mayor of Seoul, although being the head of a local autonomous region in South Korea and not directly related to the central executive branch, has been allowed to attend State Council meetings considering the special status of Seoul as a Special City and its mayor as the only cabinet-level mayor in Korea.

The incumbent mayor is Oh Se-hoon, who assumed office for the third time on 8 April 2021 after a by-election. He won 57.5 percent of the vote.[2] Oh previously served as mayor between 2006 and 2011, having been elected in 2006 and 2010.

## History

[edit]

The modern office of mayor succeeds the historic offices of Hansong-bu P'anyun (Lord Mayor of Seoul).

## List of mayors

[edit]

### Mayors of Gyeongseong

[edit]

Right after independence from Japan, Seoul was temporarily still called Gyeongseong (the Korean reading for Japanese name keijo) and was a part of Gyeonggi Province before being separated from the province and being designated as a Special City.

Mayor  | Took office  | Left office

|
|

Kim Jangyeong  | August 15, 1945  | September 11, 1945
James S. Killough[n 1] | September 12, 1945  | October 24, 1945
Lee Beomsung  | October 25, 1945  | May 9, 1946
Kim Hyongmin | May 10, 1946  | September 27, 1946

### Appointed mayors of Seoul

[edit]

Portrait  | Name
(Birth–Death) | Term of office[3] | Political party

|
|
|

Took office  | Left office  | Time in office
| Kim Hyongmin [ko]
김형민
(1907–1998)[n 2] | September 28, 1946  | December 15, 1948  | 2 years, 79 days  |
| Yun Posun
윤보선
(1897–1990) | December 15, 1948  | June 6, 1949  | 174 days  |
| Lee Ki-poong
이기붕
(1896–1960) | June 6, 1949  | May 8, 1951  | 1 year, 337 days  |
| Kim Tai Sun [ko]
김태선
(1903–1977) | June 27, 1951  | July 6, 1956  | 5 years, 60 days  |
| Goh Chaebong
고재봉 | July 6, 1956  | December 14, 1957  | 1 year, 162 days  |
| Ho Chong

(1896–1988) | December 14, 1957  | June 12, 1959  | 1 year, 181 days  | Democratic
| Yim Heung Soon [ko]
임흥순
(1895–1971) | June 12, 1959  | April 30, 1960  | 324 days  | Liberal
| Chang Ki Young [ko]
장기영
(1903–1981) | May 2, 1960  | June 30, 1960  | 60 days  | Liberal
| Kim Sangdon [ko]
김상돈
(1901–1986)
[n 3] | December 30, 1960  | May 16, 1961  | 138 days  | Democratic
| Yoon Taeil [ko]
윤태일
(1918–1982) | May 21, 1961  | December 16, 1963  | 2 years, 210 days  | Military
| Yun Chi-young
윤치영
(1898–1996) | December 17, 1963  | March 30, 1966  | 2 years, 165 days  | Democratic Republican
| Kim Hyun-ok [ko]
김현옥
(1926–1997) | March 31, 1966  | April 16, 1970  | 4 years, 17 days  | Democratic Republican
| Yang Taek Shik [ko]
양택식
(1924–2012) | April 16, 1970  | September 2, 1974  | 4 years, 140 days  | Democratic Republican
| Koo Cha Chun [ko]
구자춘
(1932–1996) | September 2, 1974  | December 22, 1978  | 4 years, 112 days  | Democratic Republican
| Chong Sangchon [ko]
정상천
(1931–2015) | December 22, 1978  | September 2, 1980  | 1 year, 256 days  | Democratic Republican
| Park Young Su [ko]
박영수
(1928–2003) | September 2, 1980  | April 28, 1982  | 1 year, 239 days  | Democratic Justice
| Kim Sung-bae [ko]
김성배 | April 28, 1982  | October 15, 1983  | 1 year, 171 days  | Democratic Justice
| Yeom Bo-hyeon [ko]
염보현
(1932–2021) | October 15, 1983  | December 30, 1987  | 4 years, 77 days  | Democratic Justice
| Kim Yong Nae [ko]
김용래
(1934–2009) | December 30, 1987  | December 5, 1988  | 342 days  | Democratic Justice
| Goh Kun

(born 1938) | December 5, 1988  | December 27, 1990  | 2 years, 23 days  | Democratic Justice
| Park Seh-jik
박세직
(1933–2009) | December 27, 1990  | February 18, 1991  | 54 days  | Democratic Liberal
| Lee Haewon [ko]
이해원
(1930–2014) | February 19, 1991  | June 26, 1992  | 1 year, 129 days  | Democratic Liberal
| Lee Sang-bae [ko]
이상배
(born 1939) | June 26, 1992  | February 26, 1993  | 246 days  | Democratic Liberal
| Kim Sang chul [ko]
김상철
(1947–2012) | February 26, 1993  | March 4, 1993  | 7 days  | Democratic Liberal
| Lee Won Jong [ko]
이원종
(born 1942) | March 8, 1993  | October 21, 1994  | 1 year, 228 days  | Democratic Liberal
| Woo Myoung Kyu [ko]
우명규
(born 1936) | October 22, 1994  | November 3, 1994  | 13 days  | Democratic Liberal
| Choi Byung-ryeol
최병렬
(1938–2022) | November 3, 1994  | June 30, 1995  | 240 days  | Democratic Liberal

### Directly elected mayors

[edit]

Since 1995, under provisions of the revised Local Government Act, the mayor of Seoul is elected by direct election.

Political parties

Conservative

Liberal

Independent

Status

Denotes acting mayor

Term  | Portrait  | Name
(Birth–Death) | Term of office  | Political party  | Elected

|
|
|
|
|

Took office  | Left office  | Time in office
1st |  | Cho Soon

(1928–2022) | July 1, 1995  | September 9, 1997  | 2 years, 71 days  |  | Democratic | 1995
| Kang Deok-ki
강덕기
姜德基
(born 1936)
Acting | September 10, 1997  | June 30, 1998  | 294 days  |  | Independent | —
2nd |  | Goh Kun

(born 1938) | July 1, 1998  | June 30, 2002  | 4 years, 0 days  |  | National Congress →
Millennium Democratic | 1998
3rd |  | Lee Myung-bak
이명박
李明博
(born 1941) | July 1, 2002  | June 30, 2006  | 4 years, 0 days  |  | Grand National | 2002
4th |  | Oh Se-hoon
오세훈
吳世勳
(born 1961) | July 1, 2006  | August 26, 2011  | 5 years, 57 days  |  | Grand National | 2006
5th | 2010
| Kwon Young-kyu [ko]
권영규
權寧奎
(born 1955)
Acting | August 27, 2011  | October 26, 2011  | 61 days  |  | Independent | —
| Park Won-soon
박원순
朴元淳
(1955–2020) | October 27, 2011  | July 9, 2020[n 4] | 8 years, 257 days  |  | Independent →
Democratic United →
Democratic ('11) →
NPAD →
Democratic ('14) | 2011 (by-el.)
6th | 2014
7th | 2018
| Seo Jung-hyup
서정협
徐正協
(born 1965)
Acting | July 10, 2020  | April 7, 2021  | 273 days  |  | Independent | —
| Oh Se-hoon
오세훈
吳世勳
(born 1961) | April 8, 2021  | Incumbent | 4 years, 100 days  |  | People Power | 2021 (by-el.)
8th | 2022

## Elections

[edit]

### 1995

[edit]

1995 Seoul mayoral election

Party  | #  | Candidate  | Votes  | Percentage
| Democratic | 2  | Cho Soon  | 2,051,441  | 42.35%  |

| Independent | 7  | Park Chan-jong  | 1,623,356  | 33.51%  |

| Democratic Liberal | 1  | Chung Won-shik | 1,001,446  | 20.67%  |

| Independent | 9  | Hwang San-sung  | 97,709  | 2.01%  |

| People First  | 3  | Park Hong-rae  | 25,054  | 0.51%  |

| Independent | 6  | Kim Ok-sun  | 17,728  | 0.36%  |

| Korea  | 4  | Goh Soon-bok  | 10,488  | 0.21%  |

| Independent | 5  | Kim Myung-ho  | 9,992  | 0.20%  |

| Independent | 8  | Chung Ki-yong  | 6,156  | 0.12%  |

Total  | 4,843,370  | 100.00%
Voter turnout  | 66.18%

### 1998

[edit]

1998 Seoul mayoral election

Party  | #  | Candidate  | Votes  | Percentage
| National Congress | 2  | Goh Kun | 1,838,348  | 53.46%  |

| Grand National | 1  | Choi Byung-ryul  | 1,512,854  | 43.99%  |

| Independent | 3  | Lee Byung-ho  | 87,495  | 2.54%  |

Total  | 3,438,697  | 100.00%
Voter turnout  | 47.13%

### 2002

[edit]

2002 Seoul mayoral election

Party  | #  | Candidate  | Votes  | Percentage
| Grand National | 1  | Lee Myung-bak | 1,819,057  | 52.28%  |

| Millennium Democratic | 2  | Kim Min-seok  | 1,496,754  | 43.02%  |

| Democratic Labor | 4  | Lee Moon-ok  | 87,965  | 2.52%  |

| Independent | 6  | Lee Kyung-hee  | 34,313  | 0.98%  |

| Green Peace  | 3  | Lim Sam-jin  | 28,034  | 0.80%  |

| Socialist | 5  | Won Yong-soo  | 12,982  | 0.37%  |

Total  | 3,479,105  | 100.00%
Voter turnout  | 45.80%

### 2006

[edit]

2006 Seoul mayoral election

Party  | #  | Candidate  | Votes  | Percentage
| Grand National | 2  | Oh Se-hoon | 2,409,760  | 61.05%  |

| Uri | 1  | Kang Kum-sil | 1,077,890  | 27.31%  |

| Democratic | 3  | Park Joo-sun | 304,565  | 7.71%  |

| Democratic Labor | 4  | Kim Jong-chul  | 117,421  | 2.97%  |

| People First | 5  | Lim Woong-kyun  | 14,111  | 0.35%  |

| Independent | 8  | Baek Seung-won  | 13,808  | 0.34%  |

| Citizens  | 6  | Lee Gwi-sun  | 4,790  | 0.12%  |

| Hanmijun  | 5  | Lee Tae-hee  | 4,481  | 0.11%  |

Total  | 3,946,826  | 100.00%
Voter turnout  | 49.83%

### 2010

[edit]

2010 Seoul mayoral election

Party  | #  | Candidate  | Votes  | Percentage
| Grand National | 1  | Oh Se-hoon | 2,086,127  | 47.43%  |

| Democratic | 2  | Han Myeong-sook | 2,059,715  | 46.83%  |

| New Progressive | 4  | Roh Hoe-chan | 143,459  | 3.26%  |

| Liberty Forward | 3  | Ji Sang-wook | 90,032  | 2.04%  |

| Future Union  | 5  | Seok Jong-hyun  | 18,339  | 0.41%  |

Total  | 4,397,672  | 100.00%
Voter turnout  | 53.90%

### 2011 (by-election)

[edit]

2011 Seoul mayoral by-election

Party  | #  | Candidate  | Votes  | Percentage
| Independent | 10  | Park Won-soon | 2,158,476  | 53.41%  |

| Grand National | 1  | Na Kyung-won | 1,867,880  | 46.21%  |

| Independent | 9  | Bae Il-do  | 15,408  | 0.38%  |

Total  | 4,041,764  | 100.00%
Voter turnout  | 48.56%

### 2014

[edit]

2014 Seoul mayoral election

Party  | #  | Candidate  | Votes  | Percentage
| NPAD | 2  | Park Won-soon | 2,752,171  | 56.12%  |

| Saenuri | 1  | Chung Mong-joon | 2,109,869  | 43.02%  |

| Unified Progressive | 3  | Chung Tae-heung  | 23,638  | 0.48%  |

| New Politics  | 5  | Hong Jung-shik  | 17,603  | 0.35%  |

Total  | 4,903,281  | 100.00%
Voter turnout  | 58.63%

### 2018

[edit]

2018 Seoul mayoral election

Party  | #  | Candidate  | Votes  | Percentage
| Democratic | 1  | Park Won-soon | 2,619,497  | 52.79%  |

| Liberty Korea | 2  | Kim Moon-soo | 1,158,487  | 23.34%  |

| Bareunmirae | 3  | Ahn Cheol-soo | 970,374  | 19.55%  |

| Green | 8  | Sin Jie-ye  | 82,874  | 1.67%  |

| Justice | 5  | Kim Jong-min  | 81,664  | 1.64%  |

| Minjung | 6  | Kim Jin-sook  | 22,134  | 0.44%  |

| Our Future  | 9  | Woo In-cheol  | 11,599  | 0.23%  |

| Korean Patriots' | 7  | Ihn Ji-yeon  | 11,222  | 0.22%  |

| Chinbak Yeondae | 10  | Choi Tae-hyeon  | 4,021  | 0.08%  |

Total  | 4,961,872  | 100.00%
Voter turnout  | 59.89%

### 2021 (by-election)

[edit]

2021 Seoul mayoral by-election

Party  | #  | Candidate  | Votes  | Percentage
| People Power | 2  | Oh Se-hoon | 2,798,788  | 57.50%  |

| Democratic | 1  | Park Young-sun | 1,907,336  | 39.18%  |

| National Revolutionary | 7  | Huh Kyung-young | 52,107  | 1.07%  |

| Women's | 11  | Kim Jin-ah  | 33,421  | 0.68%  |

| Basic Income | 6  | Shin Ji-hye  | 23,628  | 0.48%  |

| Independent | 15  | Shin Ji-ye  | 18,039  | 0.37%  |

| Progressive | 12  | Song Myeong-suk  | 12,272  | 0.25%  |

| Minsaeng | 9  | Lee Su-bong  | 11,196  | 0.23%  |

| Mirae | 8  | Oh Tae-yang  | 6,483  | 0.13%  |

| Independent | 13  | Chung Dong-hui  | 1,874  | 0.03%  |

| Independent | 14  | Lee Do-yeop  | 1,664  | 0.03%  |

| New United Liberal Democrats  | 10  | Bae Yeong-gyu  | 634  | 0.01%  |

Total  | 4,867,442  | 100.00%
Voter turnout  | 58.19%

### 2022

[edit]

2022 Seoul mayoral election

Party  | #  | Candidate  | Votes  | Percentage
| People Power | 2  | Oh Se-hoon | 2,608,277  | 59.05%  |

| Democratic | 1  | Song Young-gil | 1,733,183  | 39.23%  |

| Justice | 3  | Kwon Soo-joung  | 53,840  | 1.21%  |

| Basic Income | 4  | Shin ji-hye  | 12,619  | 0.28%  |

| Independent | 5  | Kim Gwang-jong  | 9,000  | 0.20%  |

Total  | 4,416,919  | 100.00%
Voter turnout  | 53.17%

## See also

[edit]

* Government of South Korea
* Politics of South Korea

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ Appointed as Military Mayor by the United States Army Military Government in Korea.
2. ^ Officially the first mayor of Seoul, he was the last mayor of Gyeongseong.
3. ^ Elected, under the Second Republic
4. ^ Died in office.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ 2013년도 서울시 예산안 발표(2012.11.1). finance.seoul.go.kr. Archived from the original on November 5, 2013. Retrieved April 6, 2013.
2. ^ [최종득표율] 서울 오세훈 57.5%, 부산 박형준 62.67%. The Chosun Ilbo (in Korean). April 7, 2021. Retrieved April 17, 2021.
3. ^ "Successive Mayors". Archived from the original on May 25, 2006. Retrieved May 21, 2006. With the exception of Kim Sangdon in 1960, the position was an appointed post until 1995. Since then, mayors are elected by popular vote. Some names have been adapted in accordance with Wikipedia conventions.

## External links

[edit]

* Mayor's Office

* v
* t
* e

Mayors of Seoul

* Kim Hyongmin
* Yun Po-sun
* Lee Ki-poong
* Kim Taeson
* Goh Chaebong
* Ho Chong
* Yim Heung Soon
* Chang Kiyong
* Kim Sangdon
* Yoon Taeil
* Yun Chi-young
* Kim Hyonok
* Yang Taekshik
* Kuh Chachun
* Chong Sangchon
* Park Yongsu
* Kim Songbae
* Yom Pohyun
* Kim Yongrae
* Goh Kun
* Park Seh-jik
* Lee Haewon
* Lee Sangbae
* Kim Sangchol
* Lee Wonjong
* Woo Myunggyu
* Choi Byung-ryeol
* Cho Soon
* Goh Kun
* Lee Myung-bak
* Oh Se-hoon
* Park Won-soon
* Oh Se-hoon

* v
* t
* e

Seoul

* Government
* Council
* Mayor
* City Hall
* History
* Names
* Timeline
* Climate
* Economy
* Shopping
* Sport
* Tourism
* Transport

Districts|

| North of the Han River (Gangbuk)|

* Dobong
* Dongdaemun
* Eunpyeong
* Gangbuk
* Gwangjin
* Jongno
* Jung
* Jungnang
* Mapo
* Nowon
* Seodaemun
* Seongbuk
* Seongdong
* Yongsan

|

South of the Han River (Gangnam)|

* Dongjak
* Gangdong
* Gangnam
* Gangseo
* Geumcheon
* Guro
* Gwanak
* Songpa
* Seocho
* Yangcheon
* Yeongdeungpo

Business districts|

* Downtown Seoul (Central Business District, CBD)
* Gangnam Business District (GBD)
* Yeouido Business District (YBD)

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template