Lee Jae-myung
Lee Jae-myung | |
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이재명 | |
Lee in 2025 | |
| 14th President of South Korea | |
| Assumed office 4 June 2025 | |
| Prime Minister |
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| Preceded by |
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| Leader of the Democratic Party | |
| In office 28 August 2022 – 9 April 2025 | |
| Preceded by | Woo Sang-ho |
| Succeeded by | Park Chan-dae (acting) |
| Member of the National Assembly | |
| In office 2 June 2022 – 4 June 2025 | |
| Preceded by | Song Young-gil |
| Succeeded by | Vacant |
| Constituency | Gyeyang B (Incheon) |
| Governor of Gyeonggi Province | |
| In office 1 July 2018 – 25 October 2021 | |
| Preceded by | Nam Kyung-pil |
| Succeeded by |
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| Mayor of Seongnam | |
| In office 1 July 2010 – 15 March 2018 | |
| Preceded by | Lee Dae-yup |
| Succeeded by | Eun Su-mi |
| Personal details | |
| Born | c. 8 December 1963 Andong, South Korea |
| Political party | Democratic (since 2014) |
| Other political affiliations | |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | |
| Occupation |
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| Signature | |
| Korean name | |
| Hangul | 이재명 |
| Hanja | 李在明 |
| RR | I Jaemyeong |
| MR | I Chaemyŏng |
| IPA | [i.dʑɛ.mjʌŋ] |
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Personal life Career President of South Korea
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Lee Jae-myung (born c. 8 December 1963) is a South Korean politician and lawyer who has served as the 14th president of South Korea since 2025. Lee previously held office as the governor of Gyeonggi Province from 2018 to 2021, as the leader of the Democratic Party from 2022 to 2025, and as the member of the National Assembly for Gyeyang B from 2022 to 2025.
Born to a poor family in Andong, Lee became a factory worker after primary school and became disabled due to workplace injuries. He earned middle and high school equivalency diplomas and studied at Chung-Ang University, earning his law degree in 1986. As a human rights and labour lawyer, Lee organized with Minbyun and advocated for opening a new hospital in Seongnam.
Lee entered politics in 2005 and unsuccessfully contested a few elections. He was elected Mayor of Seongnam in 2010 and re-elected in 2014. He first ran for the presidency in 2017, losing the Democratic nomination to Moon Jae-in. Lee resigned as mayor in 2018 for a successful run for Governor of Gyeonggi Province; he would resign as governor in 2021. Lee ran for president in 2022, winning the party nomination, but narrowly losing to Yoon Suk Yeol of the People Power Party in the general election.
In January 2024, Lee survived an assassination attempt. In November, he was convicted of violating the Public Official Election Act for falsely denying his connection with Kim Moon-ki, a former executive of Seongnam Development Corporation, during his 2022 presidential campaign. During the 2024 South Korean martial law crisis, Lee gained international attention for climbing the National Assembly building fence and documenting the event in a livestream. He subsequently played a significant role in leading the impeachment against President Yoon. Upon the termination of Yoon's presidency by the Constitutional Court of Korea, Lee mounted a third campaign for the presidency in 2025, winning the DPK nomination and defeating his main rival in the election, the PPP's Kim Moon-soo in the general election.