Mayor of Seoul

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Mayor of Seoul 서울특별시장
Logo of the Seoul Metropolitan Government
Incumbent Oh Se-hoon since April 8, 2021
Residence	Mayor's residence, Hyehwa-dong
Term length	4 years; renewable three times
Inaugural holder	Kim Hyongmin
Formation	September 28, 1946
Salary	₩102 million
Website	english.seoul.go.kr/get-to-know-us/mayors-office/

Mayor of Seoul
Hangul	서울 특별시장
Hanja	서울特別市長
Revised Romanization	Seoul tukbyeol sijang
McCune–Reischauer	Sŏul t'ŭukpyŏl sichang

The Mayor of Seoul (Korean: 서울특별시장; Hanja: 서울特別市長) is the chief executive of the metropolitan government of Seoul, 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 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]

Seoul was then called Gyeongseong 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
Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Took office	Left office	Time in office	Political party
	Kim Hyongmin [ko] 김형민 金炯敏 (1907-1998) ^{[n 2]}	September 28, 1946	December 15, 1948	2 years, 79 days
	Yun Bo-seon 윤보선 尹潽善 (1897-1990)	December 15, 1948	June 6, 1949	174 days
	Lee Ki-poong 이기붕 李起鵬 (1896-1960)	June 6, 1949	May 8, 1951	1 year, 337 days
	Kim Taeson [ko] 김태선 金泰善 (1903-1977)	June 27, 1951	July 6, 1956	5 years, 60 days
	Goh Chaebong [ko] 고재봉 高在鳳	July 6, 1956	December 14, 1957	1 year, 162 days
	Heo Jeong 허정 許政 (1896-1988)	December 14, 1957	June 12, 1959	1 year, 181 days	Democratic
	Yim Heung Soon [ko] 임흥순 任興淳 (1895-1971)	June 12, 1959	April 30, 1960	324 days	Liberal
	Chang Kiyong [ko] 장기영 張基永 (1903-1981)	May 2, 1960	June 30, 1960	60 days	Liberal
	Kim Sangdon [ko] 김상돈 金相敦 (1901-1986) ^{[n 3]}	December 30, 1960	May 16, 1961	138 days	Democratic
	Yoon Taeil [ko] 윤태일 尹泰日 (1918-1982)	May 21, 1961	December 16, 1963	2 years, 210 days	Military
	Yun Chi-Young 윤태일 尹泰日 (1898-1996)	December 17, 1963	March 30, 1966	2 years, 165 days	Democratic Republican
	Kim Hyonok [ko] 김현옥 金玄玉 (1926-1997)	March 31, 1966	April 16, 1970	4 years, 17 days	Democratic Republican
	Yang Taekshik [ko] 양택식 梁澤植 (1924-2012)	April 16, 1970	September 2, 1974	4 years, 140 days	Democratic Republican
	Kuh Chachun [ko] 구자춘 具滋春 (1932-1996)	September 2, 1974	December 22, 1978	4 years, 112 days	Democratic Republican
	Chong Sangchon [ko] 정상천 鄭相千 (1931-2015)	December 22, 1978	September 2, 1980	1 year, 256 days	Democratic Republican
	Park Yongsu [ko] 박영수 朴英秀 (1928-2003)	September 2, 1980	April 28, 1982	1 year, 239 days	Democratic Justice
	Kim Sung-bae [ko] 김성배 金聖培	April 28, 1982	October 15, 1983	1 year, 171 days	Democratic Justice
	Yom Po-hyun [ko] 염보현 廉普鉉 (born 1932)	October 15, 1983	December 30, 1987	4 years, 77 days	Democratic Justice
	Kim Yong-rae [ko] 김용래 金庸來 (1934-2009)	December 30, 1987	December 5, 1988	342 days	Democratic Justice
	Goh Kun 고건 高建 (born 1938)	December 5, 1988	December 27, 1990	2 years, 23 days	Democratic Justice
	Park Seh-jik 박세직 朴世直 (1933-2009)	December 27, 1990	February 18, 1991	54 days	Democratic Liberal
	Lee Haewon [ko] 이해원 李海元 (1930-2014)	February 19, 1991	June 26, 1992	1 year, 129 days	Democratic Liberal
	Lee Sang-bae [ko] 이상배 李相培 (born 1939)	June 26, 1992	February 26, 1993	246 days	Democratic Liberal
	Kim Sang-chol [ko] 김상철 金尙哲 (1947-2012)	February 26, 1993	March 4, 1993	7 days	Democratic Liberal
	Lee Won-jong [ko] 이원종 李元鐘 (born 1942)	March 8, 1993	October 21, 1994	1 year, 228 days	Democratic Liberal
	Woo Myung-gyu [ko] 우명규 禹命奎 (born 1936)	October 22, 1994	November 3, 1994	13 days	Democratic Liberal
	Choi Pyong-yol [ko] 최병렬 崔秉烈 (born 1938)	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

#	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Term of office			Political party		Term
#	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Took office	Left office	Time in office	Political party		Term
30		Cho Soon [ko] 조순 趙淳 (born 1928)	July 1, 1995	September 9, 1997	2 years, 71 days		Democratic	1st
-		Kang Deok-ki 강덕기 姜德基 (born 1936) (acting)	September 10, 1997	June 30, 1998	294 days		Independent	1st
31		Goh Kun 고건 高建 (born 1938)	July 1, 1998	June 30, 2002	4 years, 0 days		National Congress → Millennium Democratic	2nd
32		Lee Myung-bak 이명박 李明博 (born 1941)	July 1, 2002	June 30, 2006	4 years, 0 days		Grand National	3rd
33		Oh Se-hoon 오세훈 吳世勳 (born 1961)	July 1, 2006	August 26, 2011	5 years, 57 days		Grand National	4th
34		Oh Se-hoon 오세훈 吳世勳 (born 1961)	July 1, 2006	August 26, 2011	5 years, 57 days		Grand National	5th
-		Kwon Young-kyu [ko] 권영규 權寧奎 (born 1955) (acting)	August 27, 2011	October 26, 2011	61 days		Independent
35		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)
36								6th
37								7th
-		Seo Jung-hyup 서정협 徐正協 (born 1965) (acting)	July 10, 2020	April 7, 2021	273 days		Independent
38		Oh Se-hoon 오세훈 吳世勳 (born 1961)	April 8, 2021	Incumbent	34 days		People Power

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%

Notes[edit]

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

References[edit]

^ "2013년도 서울시 예산안 발표(2012.11.1)". finance.seoul.go.kr.
^ "[최종득표율] 서울 오세훈 57.5%, 부산 박형준 62.67%". www.chosun.com (in Korean). Retrieved April 17, 2021.
^ "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

[3] Appointed as Military Mayor by the United States Army Military Government in Korea.

[5] Officially the first Mayor of Seoul, he was the last Mayor of Gyeongseong.

[6] Elected, under the Second Republic

[7] Died in office.

[1] "2013년도 서울시 예산안 발표(2012.11.1)". finance.seoul.go.kr.

[2] "[최종득표율] 서울 오세훈 57.5%, 부산 박형준 62.67%". www.chosun.com (in Korean). Retrieved April 17, 2021.

[4] "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.

[1]