First Lady of South Korea

The first lady of the Republic of Korea (Korean: 대한민국 대통령 영부인; Hanja: 大韓民國 大統領 令夫人; RR: daehanmingug daetonglyeong yeongbu-in), commonly known as the first lady of South Korea, is the title held by the hostess of the presidential residence, usually the wife of the president of South Korea.

First Lady of the Republic of Korea
대한민국 대통령 영부인
Incumbent Kim Keon-hee since 10 May 2022
Residence	Presidential residence
Inaugural holder	Franziska Donner
Formation	24 July 1948 (72 years ago)
Unofficial names	First Lady of South Korea
Website	(in English) eng.president.go.kr (in Korean) president.go.kr

The current first lady is Kim Keon-hee, wife of President Yoon Suk Yeol, in office since 10 May 2022.

History

During the administration of President Park Chung Hee, the first lady Yuk Young-soo was killed. Afterwards, Park's daughter, Park Geun-hye, assumed the duties of first lady after her mother.^[1]

Park Geun-hye later became president herself, making her the first, and to date only, female president of South Korea. However, as she was never married while in office, there has yet to be a first gentleman of Korea.^[2]

List of first ladies of the Republic of Korea

President No.	Picture	Name	Tenure	Age at the start of tenure	President (Husband, unless noted)
1		Franziska Donner (프란체스카 도너) Birth country: Austria-Hungary June 15, 1900 – March 19, 1992 (aged 91)	August 15, 1948 – April 26, 1960	48 years, 61 days	Rhee Syng-man m. October 8, 1934
2
3
4		Gong Deok-gwi (공덕귀 / 孔德貴) April 21, 1911 – November 24, 1997 (aged 86)	August 13, 1960 – March 23, 1962	49 years, 114 days	Yun Posun m. January 6, 1949
5		Yuk Young-soo (육영수 / 陸英修) November 29, 1925 – August 15, 1974 (aged 48)	December 17, 1963 – August 15, 1974	38 years, 18 days	Park Chung Hee m. December 12, 1950
6
7
8
		Park Geun-hye[note 1] (박근혜 / 朴槿惠) Born (1952-02-02) February 2, 1952 (age 72)	August 16, 1974 – October 26, 1979	22 years, 195 days	Park Chung Hee (daughter)
9
10		Hong Gi (홍기 / 洪基) March 3, 1916 – July 20, 2004 (aged 88)	December 6, 1979 – August 15, 1980	63 years, 278 days	Choi Kyu-hah m. 1935
11		Lee Soon-ja (이순자 / 李順子) Born (1939-03-24) March 24, 1939 (age 85)	September 1, 1980 – February 24, 1988	41 years, 161 days	Chun Doo-hwan m. 1958
12
13		Kim Ok-suk (김옥숙 / 金玉淑) Born (1935-09-08) September 8, 1935 (age 89)	February 25, 1988 – February 24, 1993	52 years, 198 days	Roh Tae-woo m. 1959
14		Son Myung-soon (손명순 / 孫命順) January 16, 1929 – March 7, 2024 (aged 95)	February 25, 1993 – February 24, 1998	64 years, 40 days	Kim Young-sam m. 1951
15		Lee Hee-ho (이희호 / 李姬鎬) September 21, 1922 – June 10, 2019 (aged 96)	February 25, 1998 – February 24, 2003	75 years, 157 days	Kim Dae-jung m. 1962
16		Kwon Yang-sook (권양숙 / 權良淑) Born (1947-12-23) December 23, 1947 (age 76)	February 25, 2003 – February 24, 2008	55 years, 64 days	Roh Moo-hyun m. 1973
17		Kim Yoon-ok (김윤옥 / 金潤玉) Born (1947-03-26) March 26, 1947 (age 77)	February 25, 2008 – February 24, 2013	60 years, 336 days	Lee Myung-bak m. December 19, 1970
18	Vacant[note 2]		February 25, 2013 – March 10, 2017		Park Geun-hye
19		Kim Jung-sook (김정숙 / 金正淑) Born (1954-11-15) November 15, 1954 (age 69)	May 10, 2017 – May 9, 2022	62 years, 176 days	Moon Jae-in m. 1981
20		Kim Keon-hee (김건희 / 金建希) Born (1972-09-02) September 2, 1972 (age 52)	May 10, 2022 – Incumbent	49 years, 250 days	Yoon Suk Yeol m. 2012

Notes

1. Park Geun-hye is the daughter of Park Chung Hee, and took over as First Lady following the murder of her mother, Yuk Young-soo.^[3]
2. The President at the time, Park Geun-hye, was single, having never married.^[4]

See also

• First lady
• First Lady of North Korea
• President of South Korea
• List of presidents of South Korea

References

1. Carter J. Eckert, Ki-baik Lee, Young Ick Lew, Michael Robinson, and Edward W. Wagner, Korea Old and New: A History (Seoul: Ilchokak / Korea Institute, Harvard University, 1990), 377.
2. "Park Geun-hye: South Korea's first female president". BBC News. 2012-12-19. Retrieved 2023-07-02.
3. "Profile: South Korean President Park Geun-hye". BBC News. Retrieved 3 January 2018. When her mother was murdered by a North Korean gunman in 1974, Ms Park served as first lady at the age of 22.
4. Phelan, Jessica (31 January 2014). "All The Single Leaders: The world's most eligible heads of state". Public Radio International. Retrieved 3 January 2018. Park said she hasn't taken a husband because she's already married to her country...