Seoul: Chun Doo-hwan, a former Army general, was elected as South Korea's 12th president by an electoral college he personally selected. Chun's rise to power followed a military coup in December 1979, which he led after the assassination of his predecessor, Park Chung-hee, by the intelligence chief. Chun's presidency lasted from 1981 to 1988.

According to Yonhap News Agency, in 1988, Roh Tae-woo, a military colleague of Chun, took over as the 13th president. Roh was instrumental in the military coup that installed Chun in power. Kim Young-sam became South Korea's 14th president in 1993, marking a significant shift as the first civilian leader in over three decades.

Kim Dae-jung, inaugurated in 1998 as the 15th president, was a notable pro-democracy figure and later received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2000 for his efforts in fostering democracy and reconciliation with North Korea. In 2003, Roh Moo-hyun, a former human rights lawyer, assumed the presidency as the 16th president.

The first round of six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear program began in Beijing in 2004, with Pyongyang agreeing to denuclearization in exchange for aid. Lee Myung-bak, a former CEO, became president in 2008 following a decisive electoral victory.

In 2013, Park Geun-hye, the first female president and daughter of former President Park Chung-hee, was inaugurated. A year later, inter-Korean family reunions concluded at North Korea's Mount Kumgang, involving over 400 participants from both Koreas.

The PyeongChang Winter Olympics concluded in 2018 with South Korea securing five gold, eight silver, and four bronze medals, finishing seventh overall. In 2025, a tragic incident occurred when a bridge collapsed at the Seoul-Sejong expressway construction site in Anseong, resulting in four fatalities and six injuries.