Minister of Justice (South Korea)
South Korean government position
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Minister of Justice (Korean: 법무부장관) of South Korea is the leader and chief executive of the Ministry of Justice. The minister is the chief administrator of South Korea's prosecution service and oversees various judicial functions such as immigration, penal correction, and human rights. On ongoing individual criminal cases, the minister may instruct the Prosecutor General, but may not interfere with lower-ranking prosecutors.[1]
MemberofState Council of South Korea
ReportstoPresident of South Korea
Appointer
FormationAugust 2, 1948
| Minister of Justice | |
|---|---|
Incumbent since 25 August 2026Vacant | |
| Ministry of Justice | |
| Member of | State Council of South Korea |
| Reports to | President of South Korea |
| Appointer | |
| Formation | August 2, 1948 |
| Deputy | Deputy Minister of Justice |
| Korean name | |
| Hangul | 법무부 장관 |
| Hanja | 法務部長官 |
| RR | Beommubu janggwan |
| MR | Pŏmmubu changgwan |
The minister is a member of the State Council. The Minister of Justice is appointed by the president and is confirmed upon a hearing by the National Assembly.
The position of the Minister of Justice has been left vacant since the resignation of Jeong Seong-ho in August 2026. Vice minister of justice Lee Jin-su is expected to serve the position as deputy until a new minister is appointed.[2]
List of ministers
| No. | Portrait | Name | Term of office[3][4][5][6][7] | President | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Took office | Left office | Time in office | ||||
| 1 |  |
Lee In 이인 李仁 |
2 August 1948 | 5 June 1949 | 307 days | Syngman Rhee |
| 2 |  |
Gwon Seung-ryeol 권승렬 權承烈 |
6 June 1949 | 21 May 1950 | 349 days | |
| 3 |  |
Lee Woo-ik 이우익 李愚益 |
22 May 1950 | 22 November 1950 | 184 days | |
| 4 |  |
Kim Chun-yon 김준연 金俊淵 |
23 November 1950 | 6 May 1951 | 164 days | |
| 5 |  |
Cho Chin-man 조진만 趙鎭滿 |
7 May 1951 | 4 March 1952 | 302 days | |
| 6 |  |
Seo Sang-hwan 서상환 徐相歡 |
5 March 1952 | 29 June 1954 | 2 years, 116 days | |
| 7 |  |
Jo Yong-soon 조용순 趙容淳 |
30 June 1954 | 15 September 1955 | 1 year, 77 days | |
| 8 |  |
Lee Ho 이호 李澔 |
16 September 1955 | 19 February 1958 | 2 years, 156 days | |
| 9 |  |
Hong Jin-ki 홍진기 洪璡基 |
20 February 1958 | 23 March 1960 | 2 years, 32 days | |
| 10 | |
Gwon Seung-ryeol 권승렬 權承烈 |
25 April 1960 | 19 August 1960 | 116 days | Ho Chong (acting) |
| 11 |  |
Jo Jae-chun 조재천 曺在千 |
23 August 1960 | 2 May 1961 | 252 days | Yun Posun |
| 12 |  |
Lee Byoung-ha 이병하 李炳夏 |
3 May 1961 | 18 May 1961 | 15 days | |
| 13 |  |
Goh Won-jeung 고원증 高元增 |
20 May 1961 | 8 January 1962 | 234 days | |
| 14 |  |
Jo Byoung-il 조병일 趙炳日 |
9 January 1962 | 31 January 1963 | 1 year, 22 days | Park Chung-hee (acting) |
| 15 |  |
Jang Young-soon 장영순 張榮淳 |
1 February 1963 | 21 April 1963 | 79 days | |
| 16 |  |
Min Bok-ki[a] 민복기 閔復基 |
22 April 1963 | 11 December 1963 | 3 years, 156 days | |
| 17 | 12 December 1963 | 10 May 1964 | Park Chung-hee | |||
| 18 | 11 May 1964 | 25 September 1966 | ||||
| 19 |  |
Kwon Oh-byoung 권오병 權五柄 |
26 September 1966 | 20 May 1968 | 1 year, 237 days | |
| 20 | |
Lee Ho 이호 李澔 |
21 May 1968 | 20 December 1970 | 2 years, 213 days | |
| 21 |  |
Bae Young-ho 배영호 裵泳鎬 |
21 December 1970 | 3 June 1971 | 164 days | |
| 22 |  |
Shin Jik-soo 신직수 申稙秀 |
4 June 1971 | 2 December 1973 | 2 years, 181 days | |
| 23 |  |
Lee Bong-sung 이봉성 李鳳成 |
3 December 1973 | 17 September 1974 | 288 days | |
| 24 |  |
Hwang San-duk[b] 황산덕 黃山德 |
18 September 1974 | 18 December 1975 | 2 years, 76 days | |
| 25 | 19 December 1975 | 3 December 1976 | ||||
| 26 |  |
Lee Sun-joong 이선중 李善中 |
4 December 1976 | 21 December 1978 | 2 years, 17 days | |
| 27 | Kim Chi-yeol 김치열 金致烈 |
22 December 1978 | 13 December 1979 | 356 days | ||
| 28 | Baek Sang-ki 백상기 白翔起 |
14 December 1979 | 21 May 1980 | 159 days | Choi Kyu-hah | |
| 29 | Oh Tak-keun[c] 오탁근 吳鐸根 |
22 May 1980 | 1 September 1980 | 322 days | Chun Doo-hwan | |
| 30 | 2 September 1980 | 9 April 1981 | ||||
| 31 | Lee Jong-won 이종원 李鐘元 |
10 April 1981 | 20 May 1982 | 1 year, 40 days | ||
| 32 | Jeong Chi-geun 정치근 鄭致根 |
21 May 1982 | 23 June 1982 | 33 days | ||
| 33 | Bae Myoung-in 배명인 裵命仁 |
24 June 1982 | 18 February 1985 | 2 years, 239 days | ||
| 34 | Kim Seok-hui 김석휘 金錫輝 |
19 February 1985 | 15 July 1985 | 146 days | ||
| 35 | Kim Sung-ki 김성기 金聖基 |
16 July 1985 | 25 May 1987 | 1 year, 313 days | ||
| 36 | Jung Hae-chang[d] 정해창 丁海昌 |
26 May 1987 | 24 February 1988 | |||
| 37 | 25 February 1988 | 4 December 1988 | Roh Tae-woo | |||
| 38 | Huh Hyoung-ku 허형구 許亨九 |
5 December 1988 | 18 March 1990 | 1 year, 103 days | ||
| 39 | Lee Jong-nam 이종남 李種南 |
19 March 1990 | 26 May 1991 | 1 year, 68 days | ||
| 40 | Kim Ki-chun 김기춘 金淇春 |
27 May 1991 | 8 October 1992 | 1 year, 134 days | ||
| 41 | Lee Jung-woo 이정우 李正雨 |
9 October 1992 | 25 February 1993 | 139 days | ||
| 42 |  |
Park Hee-tae 박희태 朴熺太 |
26 February 1993 | 7 March 1993 | 9 days | Kim Young-sam |
| 43 | Kim Doo-Hee 김두희 金斗喜 |
8 March 1993 | 23 December 1994 | 1 year, 290 days | ||
| 44 | An Woo-man 안우만 安又萬 |
24 December 1994 | 5 March 1997 | 2 years, 71 days | ||
| 45 | Choi Sang-yeop 최상엽 崔相曄 |
6 March 1997 | 4 August 1997 | 151 days | ||
| 46 | Kim Jong-gu 김종구 金鍾求 |
5 August 1997 | 2 March 1998 | 209 days | ||
| 47 | Park Sang-chun 박상천 朴相千 |
3 March 1998 | 23 May 1999 | 1 year, 81 days | Kim Dae-jung | |
| 48 | Kim Tae-jung 김태정 金泰政 |
24 May 1999 | 7 June 1999 | 14 days | ||
| 49 | Kim Jung-kil 김정길 金正吉 |
8 June 1999 | 20 May 2001 | 1 year, 346 days | ||
| 50 | An Dong-soo 안동수 安東洙 |
21 May 2001 | 23 May 2001 | 2 days | ||
| 51 | Choi Kyoung-won 최경원 崔慶元 |
24 May 2001 | 28 January 2002 | 249 days | ||
| 52 | Song Jeong-ho 송정호 宋正鎬 |
29 January 2002 | 10 July 2002 | 162 days | ||
| 53 | Kim Jung-kil 김정길 金正吉 |
11 July 2002 | 5 November 2002 | 117 days | ||
| 54 | Sim Sang-myoung 심상명 沈相明 |
9 November 2002 | 26 February 2003 | 109 days | ||
| 55 | Kang Kum-sil 강금실 康錦實 |
27 February 2003 | 29 July 2004 | 1 year, 153 days | Roh Moo-hyun | |
| 56 | Kim Seung-kew 김승규 金昇圭 |
29 July 2004 | 29 June 2005 | 335 days | ||
| 57 | Chun Jung-bae 천정배 千正培 |
29 June 2005 | 26 July 2006 | 1 year, 27 days | ||
| 58 | Kim Sung-ho 김성호 金成浩 |
30 August 2006 | 3 September 2007 | 1 year, 4 days | ||
| 59 | Chung Soung-jin 정성진 鄭城鎭 |
4 September 2007 | 29 February 2008 | 178 days | ||
| 60 | Kim Kyung-han 김경한 金慶漢 |
29 February 2008 | 29 September 2009 | 1 year, 213 days | Lee Myung-bak | |
| 61 | Lee Kwi-nam 이귀남 李貴男 |
30 September 2009 | 10 August 2011 | 1 year, 314 days | ||
| 62 | Kwon Jae-jin 권재진 權在珍 |
11 August 2011 | 10 March 2013 | 1 year, 211 days | ||
| 63 |  |
Hwang Kyo-ahn 황교안 黃敎安 |
11 March 2013 | 13 June 2015 | 2 years, 94 days | Park Geun-hye |
| 64 |  |
Kim Hyun-woong 김현웅 金賢雄 |
9 June 2015 | 29 November 2016 | 1 year, 173 days | |
| 65 |  |
Park Sang-ki 박상기 朴相基 |
19 July 2017 | 8 September 2019 | 2 years, 51 days | Moon Jae-in |
| 66 | .jpg) |
Cho Kuk 조국 曺國 |
9 September 2019 | 14 October 2019 | 35 days | |
| — |  |
Kim Oh-soo (acting) 김오수 金浯洙 |
14 October 2019 | 1 January 2020 | 79 days | |
| 67 |  |
Choo Mi-ae 추미애 秋美愛 |
2 January 2020 | 27 January 2021 | 1 year, 25 days | |
| 68 |  |
Park Beom-kye 박범계 朴範界 |
28 January 2021 | 9 May 2022 | 1 year, 101 days | |
| 69 |  |
Han Dong-hoon 한동훈 韓東勳 |
17 May 2022 | 21 December 2023 | 1 year, 218 days | Yoon Suk Yeol |
| 70 | Park Sung-jae 박성재 朴性載 |
20 February 2024 | 4 June 2025 | 1 year, 104 days | ||
| 71 | Jeong Seong-ho 정성호 鄭成湖 |
19 July 2025 | 24 August 2026 | 1 year, 36 days | Lee Jae Myung | |
Footnotes
- Min Bok-ki was re-appointed as justice minister two times following his initial appointment in April 1963 in accordance with the commencing of the Choi Tu-son and Chung Il-kwon cabinets in December 1963 and May 1964, respectively.[8][9][10] Although he is counted to have served three consecutive terms, Min is nonetheless considered to have served the longest continous term as justice minister.[11]
- Hwang served two consecutive terms as Minister of Justice, being renominated as Justice minister in December 1975 following the launching of the Choi Kyu-hah cabinet.[12]