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

Mayor of Seoul
서울특별시장
Incumbent
Oh Se-hoon
since 8 April 2021
Member of
ResidenceMayor's residence, Hannam-dong
Term lengthFour years, renewable thrice
Inaugural holderKim Hyongmin
Formation28 September 1946; 78 years ago (1946-09-28)
Salary₩102 million annually
WebsiteOfficial website
Mayor of Seoul
Hangul
Hanja
Revised RomanizationSeoul tukbyeol sijang
McCune–ReischauerSŏul t'ŭukpyŏl sichang

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

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

List of mayors

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Mayors of Gyeongseong

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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

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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
허정
(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
고건
(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

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

Political parties
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
조순
趙淳

(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
고건
高建

(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 3 years, 239 days People Power 2021 (by-el.)
8th 2022

Elections

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1995

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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)

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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

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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

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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)

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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

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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

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Notes

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  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

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  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.
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