The Minister of Foreign Affairs () is the leader and chief executive of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The minister is responsible for implementing South Korea's foreign policy.
The current minister for foreign affairs is Cho Hyun, who took office in July 2025.
List of ministers of foreign affairs
Portrait Name Term of office President Took office Left office Time in office 1 Jang Taek-sang 15 August 1948 24 December 1948 Syngman Rhee 2 Lim Byeong-jik 25 December 1948 15 April 1951 3 Byun Young-tae 16 April 1951 28 July 1955 4 Cho Chung-whan 28 July 1955 21 December 1959 — Choi Kyu-hah 22 December 1959 24 April 1960 5 Ho Chong 25 April 1960 19 August 1960 Yun Po-sun 6 Chung Il-hyung 23 August 1960 20 May 1961 7 Kim Hong-il 21 May 1961 21 July 1961 8 Song Yo-chan 22 July 1961 10 October 1961 9 Choe Deok-sin 11 October 1961 15 March 1963 Park Chung Hee 10 Kim Yong-shik 16 March 1963 16 December 1963 11 Chung Il-kwon 17 December 1963 24 July 1964 Park Chung Hee 12 Lee Tong-won 25 July 1964 26 December 1966 13 Chung Il-kwon 27 December 1966 29 June 1967 14 Choi Kyu-hah 30 June 1967 4 June 1971 15 Kim Yong-shik 4 June 1971 2 December 1973 16 Kim Dong-jo 3 December 1973 18 December 1975 17 Park Tong-jin 19 December 1975 1 September 1980 Choi Kyu-hah 18 Lho Shin-yong 2 September 1980 1 June 1982 Chun Doo-hwan 19 Lee Bum-suk 2 June 1982 9 October 1983 20 Lee Won-kyung 15 October 1983 26 August 1986 21 Choi Kwang-soo 27 August 1986 5 December 1988 Roh Tae-woo 22 Choi Ho-joong 5 December 1988 27 December 1990 23 Lee Sang-ock 27 December 1990 26 February 1993 24 Han Sung-joo 26 February 1993 24 December 1994 Kim Young-sam 25 Gong Ro-myung 24 December 1994 7 November 1996 26 Yoo Chong-ha 7 November 1996 3 March 1998 27 Park Chung-soo 3 March 1998 4 August 1998 Kim Dae-jung 28 Hong Soon-young 4 August 1998 14 January 2000 29 Lee Joung-binn 14 January 2000 26 March 2001 30 Han Seung-soo 26 March 2001 4 February 2002 31 Choi Sung-hong 4 February 2002 27 February 2003 32 Yoon Young-kwan 27 February 2003 17 January 2004 Roh Moo-hyun 33 Ban Ki-moon 17 January 2004 10 November 2006 34 Song Min-soon 1 December 2006 29 February 2008 35 Yu Myung-hwan 29 February 2008 8 September 2010 Lee Myung-bak 36 Kim Sung-hwan 8 October 2010 11 March 2013 37 Yun Byung-se 11 March 2013 18 June 2017 Park Geun-hye 38 Kang Kyung-wha 18 June 2017 8 February 2021 Moon Jae-in 39 Chung Eui-yong 9 February 2021 11 May 2022 40 Park Jin 12 May 2022 10 January 2024 Yoon Suk-yeol 41 Cho Tae-yul 12 January 2024 18 July 2025 42 Cho Hyun 19 July 2025 Incumbent Lee Jae Myung
References
External links Former Ministers | Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Korea