Prime Minister of South Korea

The prime minister of the Republic of Korea (Korean: 국무총리) is the deputy head of government and the second highest political office of South Korea. The prime minister is appointed by the president of the Republic of Korea, with the National Assembly's approval. The prime minister may be a member of the National Assembly, but this is not required to hold the office.

Unlike prime ministers of parliamentary democracies, the prime minister of South Korea is not the head of government of South Korea but a senior member of the cabinet, since the president is both the head of state and head of government in the country. The prime minister is the principal executive assistant to the president, and is first in the order of succession; the prime minister assumes the presidency in acting capacity, upon the removal or incapacitation of the sitting president, similar to the vice president of the United States.

The current acting prime minister is Lee Ju-ho, having taken office on 2 May 2025 after the resignation of Han Duck-soo and Choi Sang-mok. After Han Duck-soo's impeachment on 27 December 2024, deputy prime minister and Finance Minister Choi briefly held the role of acting prime minister before his reinstatement on 25 March 2025 by the Constitutional Court of South Korea.