Liberal democracy index during each president's tenure
Every president since 1991, ranked by how the liberal democracy index changed from their first day in office. Politare shows what happened during a tenure; it does not claim the office-holder caused it.
| # | President | In office | Total | Per year | Chart |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Moon Jae-in | 10 May 2017 – 10 May 2022 | +15.5 points 2016 → 2021 | +3.1 points/yr | |
| 2 | DP Kim Young-sam | 25 Feb 1993 – 25 Feb 1998 | +12.6 points 1992 → 1997 | +2.5 points/yr | |
| 3 |  Kim Dae-jung | 25 Feb 1998 – 25 Feb 2003 | +12.3 points 1997 → 2002 | +2.5 points/yr | |
| 4 | Roh Moo-hyun | 25 Feb 2003 – 25 Feb 2008 | −0.2 points 2002 → 2007 | 0.0 points/yr | |
| 5 |  Park Geun-hye | 25 Feb 2013 – 9 Dec 2016 | −3.8 points 2012 → 2016 | −0.9 points/yr | |
| 6 | Lee Myung-bak | 25 Feb 2008 – 25 Feb 2013 | −10.1 points 2007 → 2012 | −2.0 points/yr | |
| 7 |  Yoon Suk Yeol | 10 May 2022 – 4 Jun 2025 | −14.8 points 2021 → 2024 | −4.9 points/yr |
Sorted by total, highest first. Every row is indexed to the last count complete before the first day in office ("from" marks a start that had to move because that count had no data, or because the period cut it); Levels are per cent changes, rates are differences in points; "per year" compounds levels and divides rates. Tenures with under 12 months, or under three observations, are left out. points, 0 to 100, V-Dem's 0 to 1 index times 100 · V-Dem Institute, V-Dem dataset v16 (v2x_libdem): the liberal democracy index, electoral democracy plus the checks on the executive and the rights of the person, as V-Dem's country experts rate them, with V-Dem's confidence interval; the 0 to 1 index times 100 · South Korea data · as of Sep 2026.