VoteMerit
Lee Myung-bak

Lee Myung-bak

Legacy

🇰🇷South Korea

Rank #328
Score: 40
About Lee Myung-bak

Lee Myung-bak (b. 1941) served as President from 2008–2013. A former CEO turned politician, he emphasized business-friendly economic policies, infrastructure expansion, and export-led growth. After leaving office, he was convicted of bribery and embezzlement, tarnishing his later reputation.

Scoring Breakdown
Detailed analysis of the politician's score.

HDI
0.937 (Korea)6/10
Source: UNDP Human Development Report — Korea (2023 )
GDP per capita
~49,726 US$ (GNI per cap PPP)6/10
Source: Asia Economy / UNDP report (2023 )
Gini coefficient
32.90 (Gini for South Korea)4/10
Source: TheGlobalEconomy — South Korea Gini (2021 )
Employment rate
62.5% employment-population ratio (March 2025)4/5
Source: Statistics Korea — Labor Survey (2025 )
Freedom index
Economic freedom ~73.7 (Index of Economic Freedom)3/10
Source: Index of Economic Freedom — Korea (2023 )
Corruption index
Corruption perception ~64 (TI)1/5
Source: Transparency Int’l — South Korea CPI (2024 )

Derived Criminal Score
Convicted of bribery / embezzlement13/20
Source: Wikipedia / press (Lee Myung-bak conviction) (2020 )