Cho Soon

Cho Soon (Korean: 조순; 1 February 1928 – 23 June 2022) was a South Korean politician who was the first publicly elected mayor of Seoul, serving from 1995 to 1997. Previously, he held office as the deputy prime minister of South Korea from 1988 to 1990 and as the governor of the Bank of Korea from 1992 to 1993.^[1]

Cho Soon
Mayor of Seoul
In office 1 July 1995 – 9 September 1997
Preceded by	Choi Byung-ryeol
Succeeded by	Goh Kun
Governor of the Bank of Korea
In office 26 March 1992 – 14 March 1993
Preceded by	Kim Kun
Succeeded by	Kim Myung-ho
Deputy Prime Minister of South Korea
In office 5 December 1988 – 17 March 1990
President	Roh Tae-woo
Prime Minister	Kang Young-hoon
Preceded by	Rha Woong-bae
Succeeded by	Lee Seung-yoon
Personal details
Born	1 February 1928 Jumunjin, Kōgen Province, Korea, Empire of Japan
Died	23 June 2022(2022-06-23) (aged 94) Seoul, South Korea
Political party	Grand National Democratic People's
Alma mater	Seoul National University University of California, Berkeley
Occupation	Professor

Life

Cho Soon was born on February 1, 1928 in Jumunjin, Kōgen Province, Korea, Empire of Japan. He graduated from Seoul National University in 1949 and earned a doctorate from the University of California, Berkeley.^[1]

As a member of the Grand National Party and later the Democratic People's Party, he held many political positions throughout his life.

Cho became Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister of South Korea under President Roh Tae-woo. He was succeeded in the position by Lee Seung-yoon in 1990. In 1992, he became the Governor of the Bank of Korea, a position he left a year later.^[1] In 1995, he ran for Mayor of Seoul, winning the race decisively with 42.4% of the vote. He assumed the office on July 1, 1995,^[2] becoming the first elected mayor of the city. Cho later served in the National Assembly from 1998 to 2000.^[3]

He died in Seoul on 23 June 2022 of natural causes at the age of 94.^[4]