Politics of South Korea

Table of contents

1 Government 2 Country name 3 Data code 4 Government type 5 Capital 6 Administrative divisions 7 Independence 8 National holiday 9 Constitution 10 Legal system 11 Suffrage 12 Executive branch 13 Judicial branch 14 Political parties and leaders 15 Political pressure groups and leaders 16 International organization participation 17 Flag description

Government

South Korea is a republic with powers shared between the president and the legislature. The president is chief of state and is elected for a term of 5 years. The 273 members of the unicameral National Assembly are elected to 4-year terms. South Korea's judicial system comprises a Supreme Court, appellate courts, and a Constitutional Court. The country has nine provinces and six administratively separate cities--Seoul, Pusan, Inchon, Taegu, Kwangju, and Taejon. Political parties include the Millennium Democratic Party (MDP); Grand National Party (GNP); United Liberal Democrats (ULD); and Democratic People's Party. Suffrage is universal at age 20.

Country name

• conventional long form: Republic of Korea
• conventional short form: South Korea
• local long form: Daehanminguk 대한민국
• local short form: Han-guk 한국

note: the South Koreans generally use the term "Han-guk" to refer to their country

• abbreviation: ROK

Data code

KS

Government type

republic

Capital

Seoul

Administrative divisions

(Main article: Administrative divisions of Korea. For historical information, see Provinces of Korea and Special cities of Korea)

1 Special City (Teukbyeolsi), 6 Metropolitan Cities (Gwangyeoksi, singular and plural), and 9 Provinces (Do, singular and plural).

• Seoul Teukbyeolsi
• Busan Gwangyeoksi
• Daegu Gwangyeoksi
• Incheon Gwangyeoksi
• Daejeon Gwangyeoksi
• Gwangju Gwangyeoksi
• Ulsan Gwangyeoksi
• Gyeonggi-do
• Gangwon-do
• Chungcheongbuk-do (North Chungcheong)
• Chungcheongnam-do (South Chungcheong)
• Jeollabuk-do (North Jeolla)
• Jeollanam-do (South Jeolla)
• Gyeongsangbuk-do (North Gyeongsang)
• Gyeongsangnam-do (South Gyeongsang)
• Jeju-do

Independence

August 15, 1945, date of liberation from Japanese colonial rule

National holiday

Liberation Day, August 15 (1945)

Constitution

February 25, 1988

Legal system

combines elements of continental European civil law systems, Anglo-American law, and Chinese classical thought

Suffrage

20 years of age; universal

Executive branch

• chief of state: President Roh Moo-hyun (since 25 February 2003)
• head of government: Prime Minister Go kun (since February 2003)
• cabinet: State Council appointed by the president on the prime minister's recommendation
• elections: president elected by popular vote for a single five-year term; election last held 19 December 2002 (next to be held by ...); prime minister appointed by the president; deputy prime ministers appointed by the president on the prime minister's recommendation
• election results: Roh Moo-hyun elected president; percent of vote - Roh Moo-hyun (MDP) 48.9%, Lee Hoi-chang (GNP) 46.6%, Kwon Young-ghil (DLP) 3.9%
• Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly or Gukhoe(국회, 國會) (273 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
• elections: last held 13 April 2000
• election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - GNP 133, MDP 115, ULD 17, DPP 2, KNP 1, independents 5; note - the distribution of seats as of August 2002 was as follows: GNP 139, MDP 113, ULD 14, DPP 1, KCF 1, independents 4

Judicial branch

Supreme Court, justices are appointed by the president subject to the consent of the National Assembly

Political parties and leaders

• Grand National Party or GNP : Choe Byung Yul , chairman
• Millennium Democratic Party or MDP : Hahn Hwa-kap, chairman
• Democratic Labor Party or KDLP : Kwon Young-ghil, president
• United Liberal Democrats or ULD : Kim Jong-pil, honorary chairman

note: subsequent to the legislative election of April 1996 the following parties disbanded - New Korea Party or NKP and Democratic Party or DP; on 20 January 2000, the National Congress for New Politics or NCNP was renamed the Millennium Democratic Party or MDP

Political pressure groups and leaders

Federation of Korean Industries; Federation of Korean Trade Unions; Korean Confederation of Trade Unions; Korean National Council of Churches; Korean Traders Association; Korean Veterans' Association; National Council of Labor Unions; National Democratic Alliance of Korea; National Federation of Farmers' Associations; National Federation of Student Associations

International organization participation

AfDB, APEC, AsDB, BIS, CP, EBRD, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA (observer), IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MINURSO, NAM (guest), NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE (partner), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMOGIP, UNOMIG, UNU, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, Zangger Committee

Flag description

The flag of South Korea is white with a red (top) and blue yin-yang symbol in the center; there is a different black trigram from the ancient I Ching (Book of Changes) in each corner of the white field.