Prime Minister of South Korea

Prime Minister of the
Republic of Korea
대한민국 국무총리
Incumbent
Han Duck-soo
since 21 May 2022
(Powers and duties suspended since 27 December 2024)

Acting Prime Minister
Choi Sang-mok
since 27 December 2024
Executive branch of the Government of South Korea
Prime Minister's Office
Style
Status
Member of
ResidenceChongni Gonggwan
SeatSejong City
NominatorPresident
AppointerPresident
(Subject to the National Assembly's approval)
Term lengthAt the President's pleasure
Constituting instrumentConstitution of South Korea
PrecursorPrime Minister of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea
Inaugural holderLee Beom-seok
Formation31 July 1948; 76 years ago (1948-07-31)
Unofficial namesPrime Minister of South Korea
DeputyDeputy Prime Minister
Salary₩191,000,000 annually[1]
WebsiteOfficial website (in English)
Official website (in Korean)
Prime Minister of South Korea
Hangul
국무총리
Hanja
國務總理
Revised Romanizationgungmuchongni
McCune–Reischauerkungmuch'ongni

The prime minister of the Republic of Korea (Korean국무총리; Hanja國務總理) is the deputy head of government and the second highest political office of South Korea. The prime minister is appointed by the president of the Republic of Korea, with the National Assembly's approval. The prime minister may be a member of the National Assembly, but this is not required to hold the office.

Unlike prime ministers of parliamentary democracies, the prime minister of South Korea is not the head of government of South Korea, since the president is both the head of state and government in the country. Instead, as the principal executive assistant to the president, the prime minister is more akin to a vice president and is first in the order of succession; the prime minister becomes the acting president, upon the removal or incapacitation of the sitting president, similar to the vice president of the United States. [2]

The current prime minister is Han Duck-soo, having taken office on 20 May 2022. After his impeachment on 27 December 2024, deputy prime minister and Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok assumed the role of acting prime minister.[3]

  1. ^ "President's annual salary set at W225m". The Korea Herald. 16 January 2018.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "South Korea's parliament impeaches acting president Han Duck-soo, as Yoon Suk Yeol goes on trial". CNA. Retrieved 2024-12-27.

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