Photo: Roh Moo-hyun with his grandchildren. Credit: National Archive.
According to Gallup Korea, Roh Moo-hyun 노무현 (31%) was the most popular president, followed by Park Chung-hee 박정희 (24%). Kim Dae-jung 김대중 (15%) and Moon Jae-in 문재인 (9%) came in third and fourth place, for a top-four ranking that included South Korea’s three liberal presidents. None of the lower-ranked presidents received more than 3% support. The least popular was Roh Tae-woo 노태우 (0.4%); Yoon Suk-yeol 윤석열 clocked in at 2.9%.
Since 2004, Gallup Korea has conducted regular surveys ranking the most popular presidents; since 2014, Roh Moo-hyun has consistently taken the top spot. In the latest survey, Roh was the most popular president across all age groups other than seniors over 60 years old, who picked Park Chung-hee.
