The Minister of Justice () 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.
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 is expected to serve the position as deputy until a new minister is appointed.
List of ministers
Portrait Name Term of office President Took office Left office Time in office 1 Lee In 2 August 1948 5 June 1949 Syngman Rhee 2 Gwon Seung-ryeol 6 June 1949 21 May 1950 3 Lee Woo-ik 22 May 1950 22 November 1950 4 Kim Chun-yon 23 November 1950 6 May 1951 5 Cho Chin-man 7 May 1951 4 March 1952 6 5 March 1952 29 June 1954 7 30 June 1954 15 September 1955 8 16 September 1955 19 February 1958 9 Hong Jin-ki 20 February 1958 23 March 1960 10 Gwon Seung-ryeol 25 April 1960 19 August 1960 Ho Chong 11 23 August 1960 2 May 1961 Yun Posun 12 3 May 1961 18 May 1961 13 20 May 1961 8 January 1962 14 9 January 1962 31 January 1963 Park Chung-hee 15 1 February 1963 21 April 1963 16 22 April 1963 11 December 1963 17 12 December 1963 10 May 1964 Park Chung-hee 18 11 May 1964 25 September 1966 19 26 September 1966 20 May 1968 20 21 May 1968 20 December 1970 21 21 December 1970 3 June 1971 22 4 June 1971 2 December 1973 23 3 December 1973 17 September 1974 24 18 September 1974 18 December 1975 2519 December 19753 December 1976 26 4 December 1976 21 December 1978 27 22 December 1978 13 December 1979 28 14 December 1979 21 May 1980 Choi Kyu-hah 29 22 May 1980 1 September 1980 Chun Doo-hwan 30 2 September 1980 9 April 1981 31 10 April 1981 20 May 1982 32 Jeong Chi-geun 21 May 1982 23 June 1982 33 24 June 1982 18 February 1985 34 19 February 1985 15 July 1985 35 16 July 1985 25 May 1987 36 26 May 1987 24 February 1988 37 25 February 1988 4 December 1988 Roh Tae-woo 38 5 December 1988 18 March 1990 39 19 March 1990 26 May 1991 40 27 May 1991 8 October 1992 41 Lee Jung-woo 9 October 1992 25 February 1993 42 Park Hee-tae 26 February 1993 7 March 1993 Kim Young-sam 43 8 March 1993 23 December 1994 44 24 December 1994 5 March 1997 45 6 March 1997 4 August 1997 46 5 August 1997 2 March 1998 47 3 March 1998 23 May 1999 Kim Dae-jung 48 24 May 1999 7 June 1999 49 8 June 1999 20 May 2001 50 21 May 2001 23 May 2001 51 24 May 2001 28 January 2002 52 29 January 2002 10 July 2002 53 11 July 2002 5 November 2002 54 9 November 2002 26 February 2003 55 Kang Kum-sil 27 February 2003 29 July 2004 Roh Moo-hyun 56 Kim Seung-kew 29 July 2004 29 June 2005 57 Chun Jung-bae 29 June 2005 26 July 2006 58 30 August 2006 3 September 2007 59 4 September 2007 29 February 2008 60 29 February 2008 29 September 2009 Lee Myung-bak 61 30 September 2009 10 August 2011 62 11 August 2011 10 March 2013 63 Hwang Kyo-ahn 11 March 2013 13 June 2015 Park Geun-hye 64 9 June 2015 29 November 2016 65 Park Sang-ki 19 July 2017 8 September 2019 Moon Jae-in 66 Cho Kuk 9 September 2019 14 October 2019 — Kim Oh-soo 14 October 2019 1 January 2020 67 Choo Mi-ae 2 January 2020 27 January 2021 68 Park Beom-kye 28 January 2021 9 May 2022 69 Han Dong-hoon 17 May 2022 21 December 2023 Yoon Suk Yeol70Park Sung-jae20 February 2024 4 June 202571 Jeong Seong-ho19 July 2025 24 August 2026Lee Jae Myung
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