Mayor of Gwangju
| Mayor of Gwangju | |
|---|---|
| 광주광역시장 | |
 Seal of Gwangju | |
| Term length | Four years |
| Inaugural holder | Seo Min-ho |
| Formation | 16 August 1948 |
| Final holder | Kang Gi-jung |
| Abolished | 30 June 2026 |
| Succession | Mayor of Jeonnam-Gwangju |
The Mayor of Gwangju (Korean: 광주광역시장; Hanja: 光州廣域市長) was the head of the local government of Gwangju, South Korea. The mayor was elected to a four-year term.
The office was abolished on 30 June 2026, following the merger of Gwangju with South Jeolla Province into Jeonnam-Gwangju. The Mayor of Jeonnam-Gwangju then became the successor to the position of Mayor of Gwangju.[1][2][3]
List of mayors
[edit]Appointed mayors (before 1995)
[edit]From 1945 to 1995, the Mayor of Gwangju was appointed by the President of the Republic of Korea.
Directly elected mayors (1995–present)
[edit]From 1995 to 2026, under provisions of the revised Local Government Act, the Mayor of Gwangju was elected by direct election.
| Political parties |
|---|
| Term | Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) |
Term of office | Political party | Elected | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Took office | Left office | Time in office | ||||||
| 1st |  |
Song Un-jong 송언종 宋彦鐘 (1937–2020) |
1 July 1995 | 30 June 1998 | 3 years, 0 days | Democratic → National Congress |
1995 | |
| 2nd | |
Goh Jae-yu 고재유 高在維 (born 1938) |
1 July 1998 | 30 June 2002 | 4 years, 0 days | National Congress → Millennium Democratic |
1998 | |
| 3rd | |
Park Gwang-tae 박광태 朴光泰 (born 1943) |
1 July 2002 | 30 June 2010 | 8 years, 0 days | Millennium Democratic → Democratic ('00) → Democratic ('08) |
2002 | |
| 4th | 2006 | |||||||
| 5th | _%EC%88%98%EC%98%81%EB%8C%80%ED%9A%8C_%EC%82%AC%ED%83%9C_%EA%B0%95%EC%9A%B4%ED%83%9C_%EC%8B%9C%EC%9E%A5_%EA%B3%B5%EC%8B%9D_%EC%82%AC%EA%B3%BC.jpg) |
Kang Woon-tae 강운태 姜雲太 (born 1948) |
1 July 2010 | 30 June 2014 | 4 years, 0 days | Democratic ('08) → Democratic United → Democratic ('11) → NPAD |
2010 | |
| 6th |  |
Yoon Jang-hyun 윤장현 尹壯鉉 (born 1949) |
1 July 2014 | 30 June 2018 | 4 years, 0 days | NPAD → Democratic |
2014 | |
| 7th |  |
Lee Yong-seop 이용섭 李庸燮 (born 1951) |
1 July 2018 | 30 June 2022 | 4 years, 0 days | Democratic | 2018 | |
| 8th |  |
Kang Gi-jung 강기정 姜琪正 (born 1964) |
1 July 2022 | 30 June 2026 | 4 years, 0 days | Democratic | 2022 | |
Elections
[edit]Source:[4]
1995
[edit]| 1995 Gwangju mayoral election | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | # | Candidate | Votes | Percentage | ||
| Democratic | 2 | Song Un-jong | 469,570 | 89.71% | ||
| Democratic Liberal | 1 | Kim Dong-hwan | 53,817 | 10.28% | ||
| Total | 523,387 | 100.00% | ||||
| Voter turnout | 64.82% | |||||
1998
[edit]| 1998 Gwangju mayoral election | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | # | Candidate | Votes | Percentage | ||
| National Congress | 2 | Goh Jae-yu | 261,578 | 67.20% | ||
| Independent | 4 | Lee Seung-chae | 127,626 | 32.79% | ||
| Total | 389,204 | 100.00% | ||||
| Voter turnout | 45.07% | |||||
2002
[edit]| 2002 Gwangju mayoral election | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | # | Candidate | Votes | Percentage | ||
| Millennium Democratic | 2 | Park Gwang-tae | 185,938 | 46.81% | ||
| Independent | 5 | Chung Dong-nyun | 107,415 | 27.04% | ||
| Grand National | 1 | Lee Hwan-eui | 43,695 | 11.00% | ||
| Democratic Labor | 3 | Park Jong-hyun | 29,427 | 7.40% | ||
| Independent | 6 | Chung Ho-sun | 20,796 | 5.23% | ||
| Independent | 4 | Chung Koo-sun | 9,877 | 2.48% | ||
| Total | 397,148 | 100.00% | ||||
| Voter turnout | 42.31% | |||||
2006
[edit]| 2006 Gwangju mayoral election | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | # | Candidate | Votes | Percentage | ||
| Democratic | 3 | Park Gwang-tae | 239,884 | 51.61% | ||
| Uri | 1 | Cho Young-taek | 157,756 | 33.94% | ||
| Democratic Labor | 4 | Oh Byung-yoon | 48,617 | 10.46% | ||
| Grand National | 2 | Han Young | 18,461 | 3.97% | ||
| Total | 464,718 | 100.00% | ||||
| Voter turnout | 46.26% | |||||
2010
[edit]| 2010 Gwangju mayoral election | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | # | Candidate | Votes | Percentage | ||
| Democratic | 2 | Kang Woon-tae | 297,003 | 56.73% | ||
| Participation | 8 | Chung Chan-yong | 75,830 | 14.48% | ||
| Grand National | 1 | Chung Yong-hwa | 74,490 | 14.22% | ||
| Democratic Labor | 5 | Chang Won-seop | 39,455 | 7.53% | ||
| New Progressive | 7 | Yoon Nan-sil | 30,834 | 5.89% | ||
| Peace Democratic | 9 | Cho Hong-kyu | 5,871 | 1.12% | ||
| Total | 523,483 | 100.00% | ||||
| Voter turnout | 49.76% | |||||
2014
[edit]| 2014 Gwangju mayoral election | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | # | Candidate | Votes | Percentage | ||
| NPAD | 2 | Yoon Jang-hyun | 367,203 | 57.85% | ||
| Independent | 5 | Kang Woon-tae | 201,666 | 31.77% | ||
| Saenuri | 1 | Lee Jung-jae | 21,614 | 3.40% | ||
| Unified Progressive | 3 | Yoon Min-ho | 21,200 | 3.34% | ||
| Independent | 7 | Lee Byung-wan | 16,249 | 2.56% | ||
| Labor | 4 | Lee Byung-hoon | 6,785 | 1.06% | ||
| Total | 634,717 | 100.00% | ||||
| Voter turnout | 57.10% | |||||
2018
[edit]| 2018 Gwangju mayoral election | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | # | Candidate | Votes | Percentage | ||
| Democratic | 1 | Lee Yong-seop | 573,995 | 84.07% | ||
| Justice | 5 | Na Gyung-che | 40,916 | 5.99% | ||
| Bareunmirae | 3 | Jeon Duk-young | 34,487 | 5.05% | ||
| Minjung | 6 | Yoon Min-ho | 33,312 | 4.87% | ||
| Total | 682,710 | 100.00% | ||||
| Voter turnout | 59.22% | |||||
2022
[edit]| 2022 Gwangju mayoral election | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | # | Candidate | Votes | Percentage | ||
| Democratic | 1 | Kang Gi-jung | 334,699 | 74.91% | ||
| People Power | 2 | Joo Ki-hwan | 71,062 | 15.90% | ||
| Justice | 3 | Jang Yeun-ju | 21,070 | 4.71% | ||
| Progressive | 5 | Kim Ju-eop | 16,595 | 3.71% | ||
| Basic Income | 4 | Moon Hyeon-chul | 3,344 | 0.74% | ||
| Total | 446,770 | 100.00% | ||||
| Voter turnout | 37.66% | |||||
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ↑ Daily, The Chosun (2026-01-27). "Jeonnam-Gwangju Special Self-Governing City Unites Regions". The Chosun Daily. Retrieved 2026-07-12.
- ↑ Daily, The Chosun (2026-06-30). "Jeonnam-Gwangju Special Metropolitan City Launches After 40-Year Separation". The Chosun Daily. Retrieved 2026-07-12.
- ↑ Bak, Ji-hun (2026-07-01). "New Era Begins: Min Hyung-bae Sworn In as Jeonnam-Gwangju Mayor at Midnight". Seoul Economic Daily. Retrieved 2026-07-12.
- ↑ National Election Commission. 중앙선거관리위원회 선거통계시스템 (in Korean). Archived from the original on 2012-04-14. Retrieved 2019-10-05.