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.

Cho Soon was born in February 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.

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. In 1995, he ran for Mayor of Seoul, winning the race decisively with 42.4% of the vote. He assumed the office on 1 July 1995, becoming the first elected mayor of the city. Cho later served in the National Assembly from 1998 to 2000.

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