New games! PlayTrivia andBirthle.

The Most Famous

POLITICIANS from South Korea

This page contains a list of the greatest South Korean Politicians. The pantheon dataset contains 15,577 Politicians, 103 of which were born in South Korea. This makes South Korea the birth place of the 31st most number of Politicians behind Bulgaria and Mexico.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary South Korean Politicians of all time. This list of famous South Korean Politicians is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of South Korean Politicians.

1. Sejong the Great (1397 - 1450)

With an HPI of 76.30, Sejong the Great is the most famous South Korean Politician. His biography has been translated into 60 different languages on wikipedia.

Sejong (Korean: 세종; Hanja: 世宗; 10 April 1397 – 17 February 1450), personal name Yi Do (이도; 李祹), commonly known as Sejong the Great (세종대왕; 世宗大王), was the fourth monarch of the Joseon dynasty of Korea. Today, he is regarded as one of the greatest rulers in Korean history, and is remembered as the inventor of Hangul, the native alphabet of the Korean language. Initially titled Grand Prince Chungnyeong (충녕대군; 忠寧大君), he was the third son of King Taejong and Queen Wongyeong. In 1418, Sejong replaced his eldest brother, Yi Je, as crown prince; a few months later, Taejong voluntarily abdicated the throne in his favor. Despite this, Sejong was a mere figurehead, while his father continued to hold the real power and govern the country until his death in 1422. Sejong reinforced Korean Confucian and Neo-Confucian policies, and enacted major legal amendments (공법; 貢法). He personally created and promulgated the Korean alphabet, encouraged advancements in science and technology, and introduced measures to stimulate economic growth. He dispatched military campaigns to the north and instituted the Samin Jeongchaek (사민정책; 徙民政策; lit. 'Peasants Relocation Policy') to attract new settlers to the region. To the south, he helped subjugate the Japanese pirates through the Ōei Invasion. From 1439, he became increasingly ill and his eldest son, Crown Prince Yi Hyang (future King Munjong), acted as regent.

2. Park Chung-hee (1917 - 1979)

With an HPI of 76.02, Park Chung-hee is the 2nd most famous South Korean Politician. His biography has been translated into 83 different languages.

Park Chung Hee (Korean: 박정희, IPA: [pak̚.tɕ͈ʌŋ.çi]; November 14, 1917 – October 26, 1979) was a South Korean politician and army general. After seizing power in the May 16 coup of 1961, he was elected as the third President of South Korea in 1963. He ruled the country until his assassination in 1979. He is regarded as one of the most consequential leaders in Korean history, although his legacy as a military dictator continues to cause controversy. Before his presidency, Park was the second-highest-ranking officer in the South Korean army. His coup brought an end to the interim Second Republic of Korea. After serving for two years as chairman of the military junta, he was elected president in 1963, ushering in the Third Republic. Park began a series of economic reforms that eventually led to rapid economic growth and industrialization, a phenomenon that is now known as the Miracle on the Han River. This made South Korea one of the fastest growing economies of the 1960s and 1970s, albeit with costs to labor rights. This era also saw the formation of chaebols: family companies supported by the state similar to the Japanese zaibatsu. Examples of significant chaebols include Hyundai, LG, and Samsung. Although popular during the 1960s, Park's popularity started to plateau by the 1970s, with closer than expected victories during the 1971 presidential election and the subsequent legislative elections. In 1972, Park declared martial law after carrying out a self-coup. He then introduced the highly authoritarian Yushin Constitution, ushering in the Fourth Republic. Now ruling as a dictator, he constantly repressed political opposition and dissent and completely controlled the military. He also had much control over the media and expressions of art. In 1979, Park was assassinated by close friend Kim Jae-gyu, director of the KCIA, following the Busan–Masan Uprising. Whether the assassination was spontaneous or premeditated remains unclear to this day. Economic growth continued in spite of the 1979 coup d'état and considerable political turmoil in the wake of his assassination. The country eventually democratized with the June Democratic Struggle in 1987. Park remains a controversial figure in modern South Korean political discourse and among the South Korean populace in general, making a detached evaluation of his tenure difficult. While some credit him for sustaining economic growth, which reshaped and modernized South Korea, others criticize his authoritarian way of ruling the country (especially after 1971) and for prioritizing economic growth and social order at the expense of civil liberties and human rights. A Gallup Korea poll in October 2021 showed Park, Kim Dae-jung (an old opponent of Park whom he tried to have executed), and Roh Moo-hyun as the most highly rated presidents of South Korean history in terms of leaving a positive legacy, especially among South Korean conservatives and the elderly. Park's eldest daughter Park Geun-hye later served as the 11th president of South Korea from 2013 until she was impeached and convicted of various corruption charges in 2017.

3. Jeongjo of Joseon (1752 - 1800)

With an HPI of 74.19, Jeongjo of Joseon is the 3rd most famous South Korean Politician. His biography has been translated into 32 different languages.

Jeongjo (Korean: 정조; Hanja: 正祖; 28 October 1752 – 18 August 1800), personal name Yi San (이산; 李祘), sometimes called Jeongjo the Great (정조대왕; 正祖大王), was the 22nd monarch of the Joseon dynasty of Korea. He was the second son of Crown Prince Sado and Lady Hyegyeong, and succeeded his grandfather, King Yeongjo, in 1776. Today, Jeongjo is remembered for his various efforts to reform and improve the nation.

4. Moon Jae-in (1953 - )

With an HPI of 74.05, Moon Jae-in is the 4th most famous South Korean Politician. His biography has been translated into 90 different languages.

Moon Jae-in (Korean: 문재인; Korean pronunciation: [mun.dʑɛ.in]; born 24 January 1953) is a South Korean politician who served as the 12th (19th election) president of South Korea from 2017 to 2022. Prior to his presidency, he served as Senior Secretary for Civil Affairs and Chief of Staff to President Roh Moo-hyun, Member of the National Assembly, and Leader of the Democratic Party of Korea. Born to North Korean refugees, Moon was raised in poverty in the southern port city of Busan. He excelled in school and studied law at Kyung Hee University. He became a lawyer and later involved in human rights activism with Roh Moo-hyun. He was imprisoned for organizing a protest against the Yushin Constitution. As a result of his work in human rights law, Moon was chosen to be the campaign manager for his longtime mentor Roh Moo-hyun in his successful bid for the 2002 presidential election. He served in Roh's administration in various official capacities. In 2012, Moon was a candidate for the Democratic United Party in the 2012 presidential election, in which he lost narrowly to Park Geun-hye in which Park was aided by the National Intelligence Service (NIS). During the 2017 presidential election, Moon was elected president as the Democratic Party of Korea candidate following the impeachment of Park Geun-hye and her subsequent removal. As president, Moon has achieved international attention for his meetings with North Korean Chairman Kim Jong Un at inter-Korean summits in April, May, and September 2018, making him the third South Korean president to meet their North Korean counterpart. On June 30, 2019, he met with both Kim and Donald Trump, then-president of the United States, at the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). Moon favors the Sunshine Policy, a peaceful Korean reunification. On economic policy, he favors reform of chaebols (conglomerates), has raised the minimum wage by more than 16 percent, and lowered the maximum workweek from 68 to 52 hours. During the COVID-19 pandemic in South Korea, Moon has received praise domestically and internationally, and helped his party win a historic victory in the 2020 South Korean legislative election.

5. Syngman Rhee (1875 - 1965)

With an HPI of 73.18, Syngman Rhee is the 5th most famous South Korean Politician. His biography has been translated into 77 different languages.

Syngman Rhee (Korean: 이승만, pronounced [iː.sɯŋ.man]; 26 March 1875 – 19 July 1965) was a South Korean politician who served as the first president of South Korea from 1948 to 1960. Rhee is also known by his art name Unam (우남; 雩南). Rhee was also the first and last president of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea from 1919 to his impeachment in 1925 and from 1947 to 1948. As president of South Korea, Rhee's government was characterised by authoritarianism, limited economic development, and in the late 1950s growing political instability and public opposition. Born in Hwanghae Province, Joseon, Rhee attended an American Methodist school, where he converted to Christianity. He became a Korean independence activist and was imprisoned for his activities in 1899. After his release in 1904, he moved to the United States, where he obtained degrees from American universities and met President Theodore Roosevelt. After a brief 1910–12 return to Korea, he moved to Hawaii in 1913. In 1919, following the Japanese suppression of the March 1st Movement, Rhee joined the right-leaning Korean Provisional Government in exile in Shanghai. From 1918 to 1924, he served as the first President of the Korean Provisional Government until he was impeached in 1925. He then returned to the United States, where he advocated and fundraised for Korean independence. In 1939, he moved to Washington, DC. In 1945, he was returned to US-controlled Korea by the US military, and on 20 July 1948 he was elected the first president of the Republic of Korea by the National Assembly, ushering in the First Republic of Korea. As president, Rhee continued his hardline anti-communist and pro-American views that characterized much of his earlier political career. Early on in his presidency, his government put down a communist uprising on Jeju Island, and the Mungyeong and Bodo League massacres were committed against suspected communist sympathisers, leaving at least 100,000 people dead. Rhee was president during the outbreak of the Korean War (1950–1953), in which North Korea invaded South Korea. He refused to sign the armistice agreement that ended the war, wishing to have the peninsula reunited by force. After the fighting ended, South Korea's economy lagged behind North Korea's and was heavily reliant on US aid. After being re-elected in 1956, he pushed to modify the constitution to remove the two-term limit, despite opposition protests. He was reelected uncontested in March 1960, after his opponent Chough Pyung-ok died from cancer before the election took place. After Rhee's ally Lee Ki-poong won the corresponding vice-presidential election by a wide margin, the opposition rejected the result as rigged, which triggered protests. These escalated into the student-led April Revolution, in which police shot demonstrators in Masan. The resulting scandal caused Rhee to resign on 26 April, ushering in the Second Republic of Korea. Despite this, protesters continued to converge on the presidential palace, leading to the CIA covertly evacuating him on 28 April by helicopter. He spent the rest of his life in exile in Honolulu, Hawaii, and died of a stroke in 1965.

6. Kim Dae-jung (1924 - 2009)

With an HPI of 72.54, Kim Dae-jung is the 6th most famous South Korean Politician. His biography has been translated into 80 different languages.

Kim Dae-jung (Korean: 김대중; Hanja: 金大中; Korean pronunciation: [kim.dɛ.dʑuŋ]; 6 January 1924 – 18 August 2009) was a South Korean politician and activist who served as the 8th (15th election) president of South Korea from 1998 to 2003. Kim entered politics as a member of the new wing of the Democratic Party. He was an opposition politician who carried out a democratization movement against military dictatorship from the Third Republic in the 1960s to the Fifth Republic in the 1980s. He continued to lose in presidential elections until the 7th presidential election in 1971, the 13th presidential election in 1987, and the 14th presidential election in 1992. Still, in the 15th presidential election in 1997, he defeated Grand National Party candidate Lee Hoi-chang through an alliance with Kim Jong-pil and DJP. Kim was the first opposition candidate to win the presidency. At the time of his inauguration in 1998, he was 74 years old, making him the oldest president in history. He promoted the Sunshine Policy, a policy of appeasement toward North Korea, and held the first-ever inter-Korean summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il in June 2000. He was a 2000 Nobel Peace Prize recipient for his work for democracy and human rights in South Korea and in East Asia in general, and for peace and reconciliation with North Korea and Japan in December 2000. He is also the only Korean to have won the Nobel Prize to date. He was sometimes referred to as "the Nelson Mandela of Asia". After completing his term in 2003, he died at the age of 85 on 18 August 2009 due to multiple organ failure and respiratory distress syndrome caused by pneumonia.

7. Yeongjo of Joseon (1694 - 1776)

With an HPI of 72.45, Yeongjo of Joseon is the 7th most famous South Korean Politician. His biography has been translated into 29 different languages.

Yeongjo (Korean: 영조; Hanja: 英祖; 31 October 1694 – 22 April 1776), personal name Yi Geum (이금; 李昑), was the 21st monarch of the Joseon dynasty of Korea. He was the second son of King Sukjong by his concubine, Royal Noble Consort Suk of the Haeju Choe clan. Before ascending to power, he was known as Prince Yeoning (연잉군; 延礽君). His life was characterized by political infighting and resentment due to his biological mother's low-born origins. In 1720, a few months after the accession of his elder half-brother, Yi Yun (posthumously King Gyeongjong), as the 20th king, Yeoning became the crown prince. This induced a large controversy between the political factions. Nevertheless, four years later, at the death of Gyeongjong, he ascended to the throne. Yeongjo is most remembered for his persistent attempts to reform the taxation system, and reconcile the various factions under his Tangpyeong policy (탕평; 蕩平; lit. 'Magnificent Harmony'). His reign of nearly 52 years was also marked by the highly controversial execution of his only surviving son, Crown Prince Sado, in 1762. However, in spite of this controversy, Yeongjo has earned a positive reputation in Korean history due to his efforts to rule by Confucian ethics.

8. Chun Doo-hwan (1931 - 2021)

With an HPI of 72.16, Chun Doo-hwan is the 8th most famous South Korean Politician. Her biography has been translated into 57 different languages.

Chun Doo-hwan (Korean: 전두환; Korean pronunciation: [tɕʌnduɦwɐn] or [tɕʌn] [tuɦwɐn]; 18 January 1931 – 23 November 2021) was a South Korean army general and military dictator who ruled as an unelected strongman from 1979 to 1980 before replacing Choi Kyu-hah as president of South Korea from 1980 to 1988. Chun usurped power after the 1979 assassination of president Park Chung Hee. Park was himself a military dictator who had ruled since 1961. Chun orchestrated the 12 December 1979 military coup, then cemented his military dictatorship in the 17 May 1980 military coup in which he declared martial law and later set up a concentration camp for "purificatory education". He established the Fifth Republic of Korea on 3 March 1981. He governed under a constitution somewhat less authoritarian than Park's Fourth Republic, but still held very broad executive power. During his tenure, South Korea's economy would grow at its highest rate ever achieving South Korea's first trade surplus in 1986. After the June Struggle democratization movement of 1987, Chun conceded to allowing the December 1987 presidential election to be free and open. It was won by his close friend and ally Roh Tae-woo, who would continue many of Chun's policies during his own rule into the 1990s. In 1996, Chun was sentenced to death for his role in the suppression of the Gwangju Uprising which led to the deaths of hundreds, possibly thousands, of citizens. Chun was pardoned the following year, along with Roh Tae-woo who had been sentenced to 17 years, by President Kim Young-sam, on the advice of the incoming President-elect Kim Dae-jung whom Chun's administration had sentenced to death some 20 years earlier. Chun and Roh were fined $203 million and $248 million respectively, amounts that were embezzled through corruption during their regimes, which were mostly never paid. In his final years, Chun was criticized for his unapologetic stance and the lack of remorse for his actions as a dictator and his wider regime. Chun died on 23 November 2021 at the age of 90 after a relapse of myeloma.

9. Sukjong of Joseon (1661 - 1720)

With an HPI of 71.67, Sukjong of Joseon is the 9th most famous South Korean Politician. His biography has been translated into 31 different languages.

Sukjong (Korean: 숙종; Hanja: 肅宗; 7 October 1661 – 12 July 1720), personal name Yi Sun (이순; 李焞), was the 19th monarch of the Joseon dynasty of Korea. A skilled legislator, he caused multiple changes in political power throughout his reign, by switching among the Namin (Southerners), Seoin (Westerners), Soron and Noron political factions.

10. Gojong of Korea (1852 - 1919)

With an HPI of 69.96, Gojong of Korea is the 10th most famous South Korean Politician. His biography has been translated into 42 different languages.

Gojong (Korean: 고종; Hanja: 高宗; MR: Kojong; 8 September 1852 – 21 January 1919), personal name Yi Myŏngbok (이명복; 李命福), later Yi Hui (이희; 李㷩), also known as the Gwangmu Emperor (광무제; 光武帝), was the penultimate Korean monarch. He ruled Korea for 43 years, from 1864 to 1907, first as the last king of Joseon, and then as the first emperor of the Korean Empire from 1897 until his forced abdication in 1907. His wife, Queen Min (posthumously honored as Empress Myeongseong), played an active role in politics until her assassination. Gojong oversaw the bulk of the Korean monarchy's final years. He was born into the ruling House of Yi, and was first crowned on 13 December 1863 at the age of twelve. His mother, Grand Internal Princess Consort Sunmok, and father, Grand Internal Prince Heungseon (widely known as Heungseon Daewongun), acted as regents until he reached the age of majority, although they continued holding power until 1874. At this time, Korea was under policies of strict isolationism. By contrast, Japan had been rapidly modernizing under the Meiji Restoration. In 1876, Japan forcefully opened Korea and began a decades-long process of moving the peninsula into its own sphere of influence. For the following few decades, Korea was highly unstable, and subjected to a number of foreign encroachments. Incidents such as the 1882 Imo Incident, the 1884 Gapsin Coup, the 1894–1895 Donghak Peasant Rebellion, and the 1895 assassination of his wife occurred during his reign. All of these incidents were related to or involved foreign powers. All the while, Gojong attempted to consolidate control, seek foreign support, and modernize the country in order to keep Korea independent. He initiated the Gwangmu Reform, which sought to improve the military, industry, and education, to some amount of success. These reforms were seen as insufficient by some parts of the Korean literati, especially the Independence Club, which Gojong at first tolerated but eventually abolished in 1898. After Japan defeated China in the 1894–1895 First Sino-Japanese War, China lost its suzerainty over Korea, which it had held for centuries. In 1897, shortly after returning from his internal exile in the Russian legation in Seoul, Gojong proclaimed the establishment of the independent Korean Empire, and became its first emperor. Gojong's actions drew the ire of Japan. After Japan defeated Russia in the 1904–1905 Russo-Japanese War, it finally became the sole power in the region, and accelerated its pace of absorbing Korea. Two months after the victory, Korea under Gojong lost diplomatic sovereignty in the Japan–Korea Treaty of 1905, signed by five ministers of Korea. Gojong refused to sign it and made attempts to bring the treaty to the attention of the international community and convince leading powers of the treaty's illegitimacy, but to no avail. Gojong was forced to abdicate by Japan on July 20, 1907, and was replaced by his son, Yi Cheok. He was then confined to Deoksu Palace. He made multiple attempts to escape and establish a government in exile abroad, but was unsuccessful each time. Korea formally became a Japanese colony in 1910, and the Korean imperial family was formally absorbed into the Japanese. Gojong died on January 21, 1919, in his palace, in conditions that were then and are still seen in Korea as suspicious. The official cause of death was cerebral hemorrhage but rumors persisted that Gojong had been poisoned by Japan. His death was a direct catalyst for the March 1st Movement, which in turn bolstered the Korean independence movement.

People

Pantheon has 103 people classified as politicians born between 333 BC and 1996. Of these 103, 30 (29.13%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living politicians include Moon Jae-in, Park Geun-hye, and Ri Chun-hee. The most famous deceased politicians include Sejong the Great, Park Chung-hee, and Jeongjo of Joseon. As of April 2022, 16 new politicians have been added to Pantheon including Chun Doo-hwan, Queen Munjeong, and Ye Wanyong.