Politics of South Korea - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Politics of the Republic of Korea takes place in the framework of a semi-presidential

Semi-presidential system

The semi-presidential system is a system of government in which a president and a prime minister are both active participants in the day-to-day administration of the state...

representative democratic

Representative democracy

Representative democracy is a form of government founded on the principle of elected individuals representing the people, as opposed to autocracy and direct democracy...

republic

Republic

A republic is a form of government in which the people, or some significant portion of them, have supreme control over the government and where offices of state are elected or chosen by elected people. In modern times, a common simplified definition of a republic is a government where the head of...

, whereby the President

President of South Korea

The President of the Republic of Korea is, according to the Constitution of the Republic of Korea, chief executive of the government, commander-in-chief of the armed forces, and the head of state of the Republic of Korea...

is the head of state

Head of State

A head of state is the individual that serves as the chief public representative of a monarchy, republic, federation, commonwealth or other kind of state. His or her role generally includes legitimizing the state and exercising the political powers, functions, and duties granted to the head of...

, and of a multi-party system

Multi-party system

A multi-party system is a system in which multiple political parties have the capacity to gain control of government separately or in coalition, e.g.The Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition in the United Kingdom formed in 2010. The effective number of parties in a multi-party system is normally...

. Executive power

Executive Power

Executive Power is Vince Flynn's fifth novel, and the fourth to feature Mitch Rapp, an American agent that works for the CIA as an operative for a covert counter terrorism unit called the "Orion Team."-Plot summary:...

is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government

Government

Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...

and the National Assembly. The Judiciary

Judiciary

The judiciary is the system of courts that interprets and applies the law in the name of the state. The judiciary also provides a mechanism for the resolution of disputes...

is independent of the executive and the legislature and comprises a Supreme Court

Supreme Court of South Korea

The Supreme Court of Korea is the highest court in South Korea. It is located in Seoul.Articles 101-110 of the Constitution of the Republic of Korea establish the Supreme Court and enumerates its powers and responsibilities.-Composition:...

, appellate courts, and a Constitutional Court

Constitutional Court of Korea

The Constitutional Court of Korea is an independent and specialised court in South Korea, whose primarily role is the reviewing constitutionality under the Constitution of the Republic of Korea...

. Since 1948, the constitution

Constitution of the Republic of Korea

The Constitution of the Republic of Korea is its basic law. It was promulgated on July 17, 1948, and last revised in 1987.- History :...

has undergone five major revisions, each signifying a new republic. The current Sixth Republic

Sixth Republic of South Korea

The Sixth Republic of South Korea is the country's present-day government. It began in 1987, with the transfer of power from the authoritarian Fifth Republic of Chun Doo-hwan....

began with the last major constitutional revision in 1988.

Executive branch

|President

President of South Korea

|Lee Myung-bak

Lee Myung-bak

Lee Myung-bak is the President of South Korea. Prior to his presidency, he was the CEO of Hyundai Engineering and Construction and the mayor of Seoul. He is married to Kim Yoon-ok and has three daughters and one son. His older brother is Lee Sang-deuk, a South Korean politician. He attends the...

|Grand National Party

Grand National Party

The Grand National Party is a conservative political party in South Korea. Its Korean name, Hannara, has a double meaning as "Great National" and "Korean National." The GNP holds a majority of seats in the 18th Assembly, lasting from 2008 to 2012....

|25 February 2008
|-
|Prime Minister

Prime Minister of South Korea

The Prime Minister of the Republic of Korea is appointed by the President with the National Assembly's approval. Unlike prime ministers in the parliamentary system, the Prime Minister of South Korea is not required to be a member of parliament....

|Kim Hwang-sik

Kim Hwang-sik

Kim Hwang-sik is a South Korean lawyer and politician. He is the former Chairperson of the Board of Audit and Inspection. He became the Prime Minister of South Korea on 1 October 2010.-Biography:...

|Grand National Party

Grand National Party

|1 October 2010
|}
The head of state

Head of State

is the president, who is elected by direct popular vote for a single five-year term. The president is Commander-in-Chief of the armed force of South Korea and enjoys considerable executive

Executive (government)

Executive branch of Government is the part of government that has sole authority and responsibility for the daily administration of the state bureaucracy. The division of power into separate branches of government is central to the idea of the separation of powers.In many countries, the term...

powers.

The president appoints the prime minister

Prime minister

A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...

with approval of the National Assembly

National Assembly of South Korea

The National Assembly of the Republic of Korea is a 299-member unicameral legislature. The latest general elections were held on April 9, 2008. Single-member constituencies comprise 245 of the National Assembly's seats, while the remaining 54 are allocated by proportional representation...

, as well as appointing and presiding over the State Council of chief ministers as the head of government. On 12 March 2004 the executive power of then president Roh Moo-hyun

Roh Moo-hyun

Roh Moo-hyun GOM GCB was the 16th President of South Korea .Roh's pre-presidential political career was focused on human rights advocacy for student activists in South Korea. His electoral career later expanded to a focus on overcoming regionalism in South Korean politics, culminating in his...

was suspended when the Assembly voted to impeach him and Prime Minister

Prime Minister of South Korea

Goh Kun

Goh Kun is a South Korean politician. He served as Prime Minister of South Korea from 1997 to 1998 and from 2003 to 2004...

became an Acting President. On 14 May 2004 the Constitutional Court overturned the impeachment decision made by the Assembly and Roh was reinstated.

Legislative branch

The National Assembly

National Assembly of South Korea

has 299 members, elected for a four-year term, 243 members in single-seat constituencies and 56 members by proportional representation

Proportional representation

Proportional representation is a concept in voting systems used to elect an assembly or council. PR means that the number of seats won by a party or group of candidates is proportionate to the number of votes received. For example, under a PR voting system if 30% of voters support a particular...

Political parties and elections

South Korea elects on national level a head of state

Head of State

– the president

President

A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...

– and a legislature

Legislature

A legislature is a kind of deliberative assembly with the power to pass, amend, and repeal laws. The law created by a legislature is called legislation or statutory law. In addition to enacting laws, legislatures usually have exclusive authority to raise or lower taxes and adopt the budget and...

. The president is elected for a five year term by the people. The National Assembly

National Assembly of South Korea

(Gukhwe) has 299 members, elected for a four year term, 243 members in single-seat constituencies and 56 members by proportional representation

Proportional representation

.

The main political parties in South Korea are the United Democratic Party (evolved from the Uri Party

Uri Party

The Yeollin Uri Party , generally abbreviated to Uri Party , was the briefly ruling political party in South Korea with a centrist political ideology...

), the Grand National Party

Grand National Party

(GNP), the Democratic Labor Party

Democratic Labour Party (South Korea)

The Democratic Labor Party , established in January 2000, is a left-wing nationalist political party in South Korea. It was founded in the effort to create a political wing for the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, considered more left and independent of the two union federations in South Korea...

(DLP), and the Democratic Party

Democratic Party (South Korea)

The Democratic Party was a political party of South Korea.Formerly called the Millennium Democratic Party , or Saecheonnyeon Minju-dang , it changed its name to the present form on May 6, 2005.- History :...

(DP). The Uri Party was formed in late 2003 from a left-leaning faction of the DP (then the Millennium Democratic Party). It gained a slim majority in the National Assembly after the April 2004 legislative elections, but lost it in subsequent by-election

By-election

A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....

s. The conservative GNP and centrist DP form the dominant political opposition. The socialist DLP is aligned with labour unions and farmers' groups.

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

Judicial branch

The South Korean judiciary

Judiciary

The judiciary is the system of courts that interprets and applies the law in the name of the state. The judiciary also provides a mechanism for the resolution of disputes...

is independent of the other two branches. The highest judiciary

Judiciary

The judiciary is the system of courts that interprets and applies the law in the name of the state. The judiciary also provides a mechanism for the resolution of disputes...

body is the Supreme Court, whose justices are appointed by the president with the consent of the National Assembly. In addition, the Constitutional Court oversees questions of constitutionality. South Korea has not accepted compulsory ICJ

International Court of Justice

The International Court of Justice is the primary judicial organ of the United Nations. It is based in the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands...

jurisdiction.

Administrative divisions

(Main article: Administrative divisions of South Korea
Administrative divisions of South Korea
||South Korea is divided into 8 provinces , 1 special autonomous province , 6 metropolitan cities , and 1 special city...

. For historical information, see Provinces of Korea
Provinces of Korea
This article describes the historical development of Korea's provinces . For detailed information on current administrative divisions, please see Administrative divisions of North Korea and Administrative divisions of South Korea....

and Special cities of Korea
Special cities of Korea
In both North and South Korea, a special city, a metropolitan city, or a directly governed city is a city that has a status equivalent to that of a province...

)

One Special City (Teukbyeolsi, Capital City), six Metropolitan Cities (Gwangyeoksi, singular and plural.), and nine Provinces (Do, singular and plural).

Seoul
Seoul
Seoul , officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. A megacity with a population of over 10 million, it is the largest city proper in the OECD developed world...

Teukbyeolsi (서울 특별시)
Busan
Busan
Busan , formerly spelled Pusan is South Korea's second largest metropolis after Seoul, with a population of around 3.6 million. The Metropolitan area population is 4,399,515 as of 2010. It is the largest port city in South Korea and the fifth largest port in the world...

Gwangyeoksi (부산 광역시)
Daegu
Daegu
Daegu , also known as Taegu, and officially the Daegu Metropolitan City, is a city in South Korea, the fourth largest after Seoul, Busan, and Incheon, and the third largest metropolitan area in the country with over 2.5 million residents. The city is the capital and principal city of the...

Gwangyeoksi (대구 광역시)
Incheon
Incheon
The Incheon Metropolitan City is located in northwestern South Korea. The city was home to just 4,700 people when Jemulpo port was built in 1883. Today 2.76 million people live in the city, making it Korea’s third most populous city after Seoul and Busan Metropolitan City...

Gwangyeoksi (인천 광역시)
Daejeon
Daejeon
Daejeon is South Korea's fifth largest metropolis and the provincial capital of Chungnam. Located in the center of the country, Daejeon had a population of over 1.5 million in 2010. It is at the crossroads of Gyeongbu railway, Honam railway, Gyeongbu Expressway, and Honam Expressway. Within the...

Gwangyeoksi (대전 광역시)
Gwangju
Gwangju
Gwangju is the sixth largest city in South Korea. It is a designated metropolitan city under the direct control of the central government's Home Minister...

Gwangyeoksi (광주 광역시)
Ulsan
Ulsan
Ulsan , officially the Ulsan Metropolitan City, is South Korea's seventh largest metropolis with a population of over 1.1 million. It is located in the south-east of the country, neighboring Busan to the south and facing Gyeongju to the north and the Sea of Japan to the east.Ulsan is the...

Gwangyeoksi (울산 광역시)
Gyeonggi-do
Gyeonggi-do
Gyeonggi-do is the most populous province in South Korea. The provincial capital is located at Suwon. Seoul—South Korea's largest city and national capital—is located in the heart of the province, but has been separately administered as a provincial-level special city since 1946...

(경기도)
Gangwon-do
Gangwon-do (South Korea)
Gangwon-do is a province of South Korea, with its capital at Chuncheon. Before the division of Korea in 1945, Gangwon and its North Korean neighbour Kangwŏn formed a single province.-History:...

(강원도)
Chungcheongbuk-do
Chungcheongbuk-do
Chungcheongbuk-do is a province in the centre of South Korea. It was formed in 1896 from the northeastern half of the former Chungcheong province...

(충청북도)
Chungcheongnam-do
Chungcheongnam-do
Chungcheongnam-do or Chungnam is a province in the west of South Korea. The province was formed in 1896 from the south-western half of the former Chungcheong Province and remained a province of Korea until the country's division in 1945, thereafter becoming part of South Korea...

(충청남도)
Jeollabuk-do
Jeollabuk-do
Jeollabuk-do is a province in the southwest of South Korea. The province was formed in 1896 from the northern half of the former Jeolla province, and remained a province of Korea until the country's division in 1945, then became part of South Korea...

(전라북도)
Jeollanam-do
Jeollanam-do
Jeollanam-do is a province in the southwest of South Korea. The province was formed in 1896 from the southern half of the former Jeolla province, remained a province of Korea until the country's division in 1945, then became part of South Korea...

(전라남도)
Gyeongsangbuk-do
Gyeongsangbuk-do
Gyeongsangbuk-do or shortly Gyeongbuk is a province in eastern South Korea. The province was formed in 1896 from the northern half of the former Gyeongsang province, remained a province of Korea until the country's division in 1945, then became part of South Korea.The Gyeongsangbuk-do Office is...

(경상북도)
Gyeongsangnam-do
Gyeongsangnam-do
Gyeongsangnam-do is a province in the southeast of South Korea. The provincial capital is located at Changwon. It contains the major metropolitan center and port of Busan. Located there is UNESCO World Heritage Site Haeinsa, a Buddhist temple that houses the Tripitaka Koreana and attracts many...

(경상남도)
Jeju Teukbyeoljachi-do (제주특별자치도)

International organization participation

AfDB

African Development Bank

The African Development Bank Group is a development bank established in 1964 with the intention of promoting economic and social development in Africa...

, APEC, AsDB, BIS

Bank for International Settlements

The Bank for International Settlements is an intergovernmental organization of central banks which "fosters international monetary and financial cooperation and serves as a bank for central banks." It is not accountable to any national government...

, CP

Colombo Plan

The Colombo Plan is a regional organization that embodies the concept of collective inter-governmental effort to strengthen economic and social development of member countries in the Asia-Pacific Region...

, EBRD

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development

Founded in 1991, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development uses the tools of investment to help build market economies and democracies in 30 countries from central Europe to central Asia. Its mission was to support the formerly communist countries in the process of establishing their...

, ESCAP, FAO

Fão

Fão is a town in Esposende Municipality in Portugal....

, G-77

Group of 77

The Group of 77 at the United Nations is a loose coalition of developing nations, designed to promote its members' collective economic interests and create an enhanced joint negotiating capacity in the United Nations. There were 77 founding members of the organization, but the organization has...

, IAEA

International Atomic Energy Agency

The International Atomic Energy Agency is an international organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy, and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons. The IAEA was established as an autonomous organization on 29 July 1957...

, IBRD

International Bank for Reconstruction and Development

The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development is one of five institutions that compose the World Bank Group. The IBRD is an international organization whose original mission was to finance the reconstruction of nations devastated by World War II. Now, its mission has expanded to fight...

, ICAO

International Civil Aviation Organization

The International Civil Aviation Organization , pronounced , , is a specialized agency of the United Nations. It codifies the principles and techniques of international air navigation and fosters the planning and development of international air transport to ensure safe and orderly growth...

, ICCt

International Criminal Court

The International Criminal Court is a permanent tribunal to prosecute individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression .It came into being on 1 July 2002—the date its founding treaty, the Rome Statute of the...

, ICC

International Chamber of Commerce

The International Chamber of Commerce is the largest, most representative business organization in the world. Its hundreds of thousands of member companies in over 130 countries have interests spanning every sector of private enterprise....

, ICRM

International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement

The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is an international humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million volunteers, members and staff worldwide which was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure respect for all human beings, and to prevent and alleviate human...

, IDA

International Development Association

The International Development Association , is the part of the World Bank that helps the world’s poorest countries. It complements the World Bank's other lending arm — the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development — which serves middle-income countries with capital investment and...

, IEA

International Energy Agency

The International Energy Agency is a Paris-based autonomous intergovernmental organization established in the framework of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development in 1974 in the wake of the 1973 oil crisis...

(observer), IFAD

International Fund for Agricultural Development

The International Fund for Agricultural Development , a specialized agency of the United Nations, was established as an international financial institution in 1977 as one of the major outcomes of the 1974 World Food Conference. IFAD is dedicated to eradicating rural poverty in developing countries...

, IFC

International Finance Corporation

The International Finance Corporation promotes sustainable private sector investment in developing countries.IFC is a member of the World Bank Group and is headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States....

, IFRCS

International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement

, IHO

International Hydrographic Organization

The International Hydrographic Organization is the inter-governmental organisation representing the hydrographic community. It enjoys observer status at the UN and is the recognised competent authority on hydrographic surveying and nautical charting...

, ILO

International Labour Organization

The International Labour Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that deals with labour issues pertaining to international labour standards. Its headquarters are in Geneva, Switzerland. Its secretariat — the people who are employed by it throughout the world — is known as the...

, IMF

International Monetary Fund

The International Monetary Fund is an organization of 187 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world...

, IMO

International Maritime Organization

The International Maritime Organization , formerly known as the Inter-Governmental Maritime Consultative Organization , was established in Geneva in 1948, and came into force ten years later, meeting for the first time in 1959...

, Inmarsat

International Mobile Satellite Organization

The International Mobile Satellite Organization is the intergovernmental organization that oversees certain public satellite safety and security communication services provided via the Inmarsat satellites...

, Intelsat

Intelsat

Intelsat, Ltd. is a communications satellite services provider.Originally formed as International Telecommunications Satellite Organization , it was—from 1964 to 2001—an intergovernmental consortium owning and managing a constellation of communications satellites providing international broadcast...

, Interpol

Interpol

Interpol, whose full name is the International Criminal Police Organization – INTERPOL, is an organization facilitating international police cooperation...

, IOC, IOM

International Organization for Migration

The International Organization for Migration is an intergovernmental organization. It was initially established in 1951 as the Intergovernmental Committee for European Migration to help resettle people displaced by World War II....

, ISO

International Organization for Standardization

The International Organization for Standardization , widely known as ISO, is an international standard-setting body composed of representatives from various national standards organizations. Founded on February 23, 1947, the organization promulgates worldwide proprietary, industrial and commercial...

, ITU

International Telecommunication Union

The International Telecommunication Union is the specialized agency of the United Nations which is responsible for information and communication technologies...

, ITUC

International Trade Union Confederation

The International Trade Union Confederation is the world's largest trade union federation. It was formed on November 1, 2006 out of the merger of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions and the World Confederation of Labour...

, MINURSO

United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara

MINURSO is the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Western Sahara. The name is a French acronym for "Mission des Nations Unies pour l'Organisation d'un Référendum au Sahara Occidental" — United Nations Mission for the organization of a Referendum in Western Sahara.-Purpose of the mission:MINURSO...

, NAM

Non-Aligned Movement

The Non-Aligned Movement is a group of states considering themselves not aligned formally with or against any major power bloc. As of 2011, the movement had 120 members and 17 observer countries...

(guest), NSG

Nuclear Suppliers Group

Nuclear Suppliers Group is a multinational body concerned with reducing nuclear proliferation by controlling the export and re-transfer of materials that may be applicable to nuclear weapon development and by improving safeguards and protection on existing materials.- History :It was founded in...

, OAS

Organization of American States

The Organization of American States is a regional international organization, headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States...

(observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE

Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe

The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe is the world's largest security-oriented intergovernmental organization. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, human rights, freedom of the press and fair elections...

(partner), UN

United Nations

The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...

, UNCTAD

United Nations Conference on Trade and Development

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development was established in 1964 as a permanent intergovernmental body. It is the principal organ of the United Nations General Assembly dealing with trade, investment, and development issues....

, UNESCO

UNESCO

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...

, UNIDO

United Nations Industrial Development Organization

The United Nations Industrial Development Organization , French/Spanish acronym ONUDI, is a specialized agency in the United Nations system, headquartered in Vienna, Austria...

, UNMOGIP, UNOMIG, UNU

United Nations University

The United Nations University is an academic arm of the United Nations established in 1973, which serves purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations. The UNU undertakes research into the pressing global problems of human survival, development and welfare that are the concern of...

, UPU

Universal Postal Union

The Universal Postal Union is an international organization that coordinates postal policies among member nations, in addition to the worldwide postal system. The UPU contains four bodies consisting of the Congress, the Council of Administration , the Postal Operations Council and the...

, WCO

World Customs Organization

The World Customs Organization is an intergovernmental organization headquartered in Brussels, Belgium. With its worldwide membership, the WCO is recognized as the voice of the global customs community...

, WHO

World Health Organization

The World Health Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that acts as a coordinating authority on international public health. Established on 7 April 1948, with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, the agency inherited the mandate and resources of its predecessor, the Health...

, WIPO

World Intellectual Property Organization

The World Intellectual Property Organization is one of the 17 specialized agencies of the United Nations. WIPO was created in 1967 "to encourage creative activity, to promote the protection of intellectual property throughout the world"....

, WMO

World Meteorological Organization

The World Meteorological Organization is an intergovernmental organization with a membership of 189 Member States and Territories. It originated from the International Meteorological Organization , which was founded in 1873...

, WToO

World Tourism Organization

The World Tourism Organization , based in Madrid, Spain, is a United Nations agency dealing with questions relating to tourism. It compiles the World Tourism rankings. The World Tourism Organization is a significant global body, concerned with the collection and collation of statistical information...

, WTrO

World Trade Organization

The World Trade Organization is an organization that intends to supervise and liberalize international trade. The organization officially commenced on January 1, 1995 under the Marrakech Agreement, replacing the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade , which commenced in 1948...

, Zangger Committee

Zangger Committee

The Zangger Committee, also known as the Nuclear Exporters Committee, sprang from Article III.2 of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons which entered into force on March 5, 1970...

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Executive branch

Legislative branch

Political parties and elections

Political pressure groups and leaders

Judicial branch

Administrative divisions

International organization participation

See also

External links