The position is historically one of the most powerful in the country, charged with managing an annual budget of 23 trillion won.

Yun Bo-seon and Lee Myung-bak both went on to become President of the Republic of Korea.

The mayor of Seoul, although being the head of a local autonomous region in South Korea and not directly related to the central executive branch, has been allowed to attend State Council meetings considering the special status of Seoul as a Special City and its mayor as the only cabinet-level mayor in Korea.

The incumbent mayor is Oh Se-hoon, who assumed office for the third time on 8 April 2021 after a by-election.

Right after independence from Japan, Seoul was temporarily still called Gyeongseong (the Korean reading for Japanese name keijo) and was a part of Gyeonggi Province before being separated from the province and being designated as a Special City.