President of South Korea

President of the Republic of Korea
대한민국 대통령 大韓民國大統領
Seal of the president
Standard of the president
Incumbent Han Duck-soo Acting  since 24 March 2025
Executive branch of the Government of South Korea Office of the President
Style	Mr. President (informal) His Excellency (diplomatic)
Status	Head of state Head of government Commander-in-chief
Member of	State Council National Security Council National Unification Advisory Council
Residence	Presidential Residence of South Korea
Seat	Seoul
Appointer	Direct popular vote
Term length	Five years, Non renewable
Constituting instrument	Constitution of South Korea (1948)
Precursor	President of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea
Formation	24 July 1948; 76 years ago (1948-07-24)
First holder	Syngman Rhee
Unofficial names	President of South Korea
Deputy	Prime Minister of South Korea
Salary	₩240,648,000/USD$ 165,084 annually (2024)[1]
Website	Official website (in English) Official website (in Korean)

This article is part of a series on
Politics of South Korea
Government Constitution of South Korea Law Human rights
Legislature National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik (I) Deputy Speaker Lee Hak-young (D) Deputy Speaker Joo Ho-young (P) Members
Executive President of South Korea Han Duck-soo (I, Acting) Prime Minister of South Korea Han Duck-soo (I, Acting) State Council Administrative divisions
Judiciary Constitutional Court of Korea President Moon Hyungbae (Acting) Supreme Court of Korea Chief Justice Jo Hee-de High courts
Elections Presidential elections Legislative elections Local elections By-elections
Political parties Democratic PPP Rebuilding Korea New Reform Progressive Basic Income Social Democratic
Korean conflict Reunification Sunshine Policy
South Korea portal Other countries
v t e

The president of the Republic of Korea (Korean: 대한민국 대통령; Hanja: 大韓民國大統領; RR: Daehanminguk daetongnyeong), also known as the president of South Korea (Korean: 한국 대통령), is both the head of state and head of government of the Republic of Korea. The president is directly elected by the citizens of the Republic of Korea and pledges to execute the duties of their office, chief among others "to defend the State, (and to) pursue peaceful unification of the homeland." The president leads the State Council, is the chief of the executive branch of the national government and the commander-in-chief of the Republic of Korea Armed Forces.

The Constitution of South Korea and the amended Presidential Election Act of 1987 provide for election of the president by direct, secret ballot, ending sixteen years of indirect presidential elections under the preceding two authoritarian governments. The president is directly elected to a five-year term, with no possibility of re-election.^[2] If a presidential vacancy should occur, a successor must be elected within sixty days, during which time presidential duties are to be performed by the prime minister or other senior cabinet members in the order of priority as determined by law. The president is exempt from criminal liability (except for insurrection or treason).

The impeachment of Yoon Suk Yeol on 14 December 2024 suspended then-incumbent president Yoon Suk Yeol, making Prime Minister Han Duck-soo acting president. Han himself was briefly suspended after his own impeachment on 27 December 2024, leading Deputy Prime Minister Choi Sang-mok to assume the role of acting president; however, Han was reinstated by the Constitutional Court of Korea on 24 March 2025.^[3][4] Yoon was subsequently removed from office on 4 April 2025, when the Constitutional Court upheld his impeachment; the presidency is thus vacant until the 2025 South Korean presidential election, and in the meantime Han will continue as acting president.