The politics of South Korea take place in the framework of a presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the president is the head of state, and of a multi-party system. To ensure a separation of powers, the Republic of Korea Government is made up of three branches: legislative, executive, and judicial. The government exercises executive power and legislative power is vested in both the government and the National Assembly. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature and comprises a Supreme Court, appellate courts, and a Constitutional Court.
Politics of the Republic of Korea 대한민국의 정치 (Korean) | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Polity type | Unitary presidential constitutional republic |
| Constitution | Constitution of the Republic of Korea |
| Legislative branch | |
| Name | National Assembly |
| Type | Unicameral |
| Meeting place | National Assembly Building |
| Presiding officer | Kim Jin-pyo, Speaker of the National Assembly |
| Executive branch | |
| Head of State and Government | |
| Title | President |
| Currently | Yoon Suk Yeol |
| Appointer | Direct popular vote |
| Cabinet | |
| Name | State Council |
| Leader | President |
| Deputy leader | Prime Minister |
| Appointer | President |
| Headquarters | Yongsan, Seoul |
| Ministries | 18 |
| Judicial branch | |
| Name | Judiciary of South Korea |
| Supreme Court | |
| Chief judge | Cho Hee-dae |
| Constitutional Court | |
| Chief judge | Lee Jongseok |
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Since 1948, the constitution has undergone five major revisions, each signifying a new republic. The current Sixth Republic began with the last major constitutional revision that took effect in 1988. From its founding until the June Democratic Struggle, the South Korean political system operated under a military authoritarian regime, with the freedom of assembly, association, expression, press and religion as well as civil society activism being tightly restricted. During that period, there were no freely elected national leaders, political opposition is suppressed, dissent was not permitted and civil rights were curtailed.
The Economist Intelligence Unit rated South Korea a "full democracy" in 2022.[1] According to the V-Dem Democracy indices South Korea was 2023 the third most electoral democratic country in Asia.[2]
National government
Executive branch
| Office | Name | Party | Since |
|---|---|---|---|
| President | Yoon Suk Yeol | People Power Party | 10 May 2022 |
| Prime Minister | Han Duck-soo | Independent | 22 May 2022 |
The head of state is the president, who is elected by direct popular vote for a single five-year[3] term. The president is Commander-in-Chief of the Republic of Korea Armed Forces and enjoys considerable executive powers.
The president appoints the prime minister with approval of the National Assembly, 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 was suspended when the Assembly voted to impeach him and Prime Minister Goh Kun became an Acting President. On 14 May 2004, the Constitutional Court overturned the impeachment decision made by the Assembly and Roh was reinstated.
On 10 May 2022, Yoon Suk Yeol succeeded Moon Jae-in as president of South Korea.[4]
Legislative branch
The National Assembly (Korean: 국회; Hanja: 國會; RR: gukhoe) has 300 members, elected for a four-year term, 253 members in single-seat constituencies and 47 members by proportional representation. The ruling Democratic Party of Korea is the largest party in the Assembly.
Judicial branch
The South Korean judiciary is independent of the other two branches of government, and is composed of two different highest courts. Inferior ordinary courts are under the Supreme Court, whose justices are appointed by the president of South Korea with the consent of the National Assembly. In addition, the Constitutional Court oversees questions of constitutionality, as single and the only court whose justices are appointed by the president of South Korea by equal portion of nomination from the president, the National Assembly, and the Supreme Court Chief justice. South Korea has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction.
Political parties and elections
South Korea elects on national level a head of state – the president – and a legislature. The president is elected for a five-year term by the people. The National Assembly (Gukhoe) has 300 members, elected for a four-year term, 253 members in single-seat constituencies and 47 members by proportional representation.
The main two political parties in South Korea are the liberal Democratic Party of Korea (lit. "Together Democratic Party", DPK) and the conservative People Power Party (PPP), formerly the United Future Party (UFP). The liberal camp and the conservative camp are the dominant forces of South Korean politics at present.
| Group | Floor leader | Seats | % of seats | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ▌Democratic Party | Lee Jae-myung | 176[a] | 52.31% | ||||
| ▌People Power | Yoon Jae-ok | 108[b] | 45.73% | ||||
| ▌Green-Justice | Sim Sang-jung | 6 | 1.8% | ||||
| ▌New Future | Kim Jong-min | 5 | 1.5% | ||||
| ▌New Reform | Yang Hyang-ja | 4 | 1.2% | ||||
| ▌Progressive | Kang Sung-hee | 1 | 0.3% | ||||
| ▌Rebuilding Korea Party | Hwang Un-ha | 1 | 0.3% | ||||
| ▌Liberal Unification Party | Hwangbo Seung-hee | 1 | 0.3% | ||||
| ▌Independents | 9 | 3.0% | |||||
| ▌Vacant | 3 | 0.9% | |||||
| Total | 300 | 100.0% | |||||
Notes:
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Political nature
South Korea's political history has always been prone to splits from and merges with other parties. One reason is that there is a greater emphasis around the 'politics of the individual' rather than the party; therefore, party loyalty is not strong when disagreements occur. The graph below illustrates the extent of the political volatility within the last 10 years alone. These splits were intensified after the 2016 South Korean political scandal.
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Latest elections
Presidential election
| Candidate | Party | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yoon Suk Yeol | People Power Party | 16,394,815 | 48.56 | |
| Lee Jae-myung | Democratic Party of Korea | 16,147,738 | 47.83 | |
| Sim Sang-jung | Justice Party | 803,358 | 2.38 | |
| Huh Kyung-young | National Revolutionary Party | 281,481 | 0.83 | |
| Kim Jae-yeon | Progressive Party | 37,366 | 0.11 | |
| Cho Won-jin | Our Republican Party | 25,972 | 0.08 | |
| Oh Jun-ho | Basic Income Party | 18,105 | 0.05 | |
| Kim Min-chan | Korean Wave Alliance | 17,305 | 0.05 | |
| Lee Gyeong-hee | Korean Unification | 11,708 | 0.03 | |
| Lee Baek-yun | Labor Party | 9,176 | 0.03 | |
| Kim Gyeong-jae | New Liberal Democratic Union | 8,317 | 0.02 | |
| Ok Un-ho | Saenuri Party | 4,970 | 0.01 | |
| Total | 33,760,311 | 100.00 | ||
| Valid votes | 33,760,311 | 99.10 | ||
| Invalid/blank votes | 307,542 | 0.90 | ||
| Total votes | 34,067,853 | 100.00 | ||
| Registered voters/turnout | 44,197,692 | 77.08 | ||
| Source: Election results | ||||
By region
Major candidates
Breakdown of votes by region for candidates with at least 1% of the total votes.
| Region | Yoon Suk Yeol | Lee Jae-myung | Sim Sang-jung | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | |
| Seoul | 3,255,747 | 50.6 | 2,944,981 | 45.7 | 180,324 | 2.8 |
| Busan | 1,270,072 | 58.3 | 831,896 | 38.1 | 47,541 | 2.2 |
| Daegu | 1,199,888 | 75.1 | 345,045 | 21.6 | 31,131 | 1.9 |
| Incheon | 878,560 | 47.1 | 913,320 | 48.9 | 51,852 | 2.8 |
| Gwangju | 124,511 | 12.7 | 830,058 | 84.8 | 14,865 | 1.5 |
| Daejeon | 464,060 | 49.6 | 434,950 | 46.4 | 25,445 | 2.7 |
| Ulsan | 396,321 | 54.4 | 297,134 | 40.8 | 21,292 | 2.9 |
| Sejong | 101,491 | 44.1 | 119,349 | 51.9 | 6,780 | 2.9 |
| Gyeonggi | 3,965,341 | 45.6 | 4,428,151 | 50.9 | 205,709 | 2.4 |
| Gangwon | 544,980 | 54.2 | 419,644 | 41.7 | 25,031 | 2.5 |
| North Chungcheong | 511,921 | 50.7 | 455,853 | 45.1 | 26,557 | 2.6 |
| South Chungcheong | 670,283 | 51.1 | 589,991 | 45.0 | 31,789 | 2.4 |
| North Jeolla | 176,809 | 14.4 | 1,016,863 | 83.0 | 19,451 | 1.6 |
| South Jeolla | 145,549 | 11.4 | 1,094,872 | 86.1 | 16,279 | 1.3 |
| North Gyeongsang | 1,278,922 | 72.8 | 418,371 | 23.8 | 33,123 | 1.9 |
| South Gyeongsang | 1,237,346 | 58.2 | 794,130 | 37.4 | 52,591 | 2.5 |
| Jeju | 173,014 | 42.7 | 213,130 | 52.6 | 13,598 | 3.4 |
| Total | 16,394,815 | 48.6 | 16,147,738 | 47.8 | 803,358 | 2.4 |
| Source: National Election Commission | ||||||
Minor candidates
Breakdown of votes by region for candidates with less than 1% of the total votes.
| Region | Huh Kyung-young | Kim Jae-yeon | Cho Won-jin | Oh Jun-ho | Kim Min-chan | Lee Gyeong-hee | Lee Baek-yun | Kim Gyeong-jae | Ok Un-ho | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | |
| Seoul | 36,540 | 0.6 | 5,615 | 0.1 | 4,657 | 0.1 | 3,829 | 0.1 | 1,907 | 0.0 | 1,333 | 0.0 | 1,571 | 0.0 | 1,791 | 0.0 | 844 | 0.0 |
| Busan | 21,990 | 1.0 | 2,799 | 0.1 | 1,867 | 0.1 | 1,071 | 0.0 | 942 | 0.0 | 575 | 0.0 | 546 | 0.0 | 527 | 0.0 | 352 | 0.0 |
| Daegu | 13,941 | 0.9 | 938 | 0.1 | 2,824 | 0.2 | 892 | 0.1 | 619 | 0.0 | 472 | 0.0 | 344 | 0.0 | 451 | 0.0 | 261 | 0.0 |
| Incheon | 16,733 | 0.9 | 1,593 | 0.1 | 1,378 | 0.1 | 1,116 | 0.1 | 758 | 0.0 | 511 | 0.0 | 508 | 0.0 | 449 | 0.0 | 276 | 0.0 |
| Gwangju | 6,138 | 0.6 | 1,366 | 0.1 | 112 | 0.0 | 434 | 0.0 | 455 | 0.0 | 188 | 0.0 | 242 | 0.0 | 140 | 0.0 | 92 | 0.0 |
| Daejeon | 8,593 | 0.9 | 958 | 0.1 | 588 | 0.1 | 566 | 0.1 | 395 | 0.0 | 258 | 0.0 | 223 | 0.0 | 227 | 0.0 | 138 | 0.0 |
| Ulsan | 9,234 | 1.3 | 2,180 | 0.3 | 685 | 0.1 | 375 | 0.1 | 333 | 0.0 | 234 | 0.0 | 308 | 0.0 | 185 | 0.0 | 109 | 0.0 |
| Sejong | 1,594 | 0.7 | 181 | 0.1 | 121 | 0.1 | 100 | 0.0 | 88 | 0.0 | 66 | 0.0 | 50 | 0.0 | 48 | 0.0 | 23 | 0.0 |
| Gyeonggi | 63,207 | 0.7 | 8,768 | 0.1 | 5,897 | 0.1 | 4,151 | 0.0 | 3,192 | 0.0 | 1,927 | 0.0 | 1,919 | 0.0 | 1,990 | 0.0 | 1,124 | 0.0 |
| Gangwon | 11,668 | 1.2 | 1,260 | 0.1 | 824 | 0.1 | 582 | 0.1 | 560 | 0.1 | 525 | 0.1 | 323 | 0.0 | 262 | 0.0 | 181 | 0.0 |
| North Chungcheong | 11,165 | 1.1 | 1,083 | 0.1 | 779 | 0.1 | 614 | 0.1 | 653 | 0.1 | 698 | 0.1 | 385 | 0.0 | 288 | 0.0 | 213 | 0.0 |
| South Chungcheong | 14,169 | 1.1 | 1,586 | 0.1 | 899 | 0.1 | 750 | 0.1 | 864 | 0.1 | 791 | 0.1 | 477 | 0.0 | 314 | 0.0 | 200 | 0.0 |
| North Jeolla | 7,975 | 0.7 | 896 | 0.1 | 299 | 0.0 | 542 | 0.0 | 1,464 | 0.1 | 409 | 0.0 | 377 | 0.0 | 199 | 0.0 | 135 | 0.0 |
| South Jeolla | 8,322 | 0.7 | 1,917 | 0.2 | 296 | 0.0 | 672 | 0.1 | 2,246 | 0.2 | 507 | 0.0 | 473 | 0.0 | 304 | 0.0 | 179 | 0.0 |
| North Gyeongsang | 18,028 | 1.0 | 1,763 | 0.1 | 2,431 | 0.1 | 964 | 0.1 | 1,046 | 0.1 | 1,607 | 0.1 | 535 | 0.0 | 550 | 0.0 | 356 | 0.0 |
| South Gyeongsang | 28,645 | 1.3 | 3,892 | 0.2 | 2,044 | 0.1 | 1,180 | 0.1 | 1,473 | 0.1 | 1,379 | 0.1 | 749 | 0.0 | 491 | 0.0 | 424 | 0.0 |
| Jeju | 3,539 | 0.9 | 571 | 0.1 | 271 | 0.1 | 267 | 0.1 | 310 | 0.1 | 228 | 0.1 | 146 | 0.0 | 101 | 0.0 | 63 | 0.0 |
| Total | 281.481 | 0.8 | 37,366 | 0.1 | 25,972 | 0.1 | 18,105 | 0.1 | 17,305 | 0.1 | 11,708 | 0.0 | 9,176 | 0.0 | 8,317 | 0.0 | 4,970 | 0.0 |
| Source: National Election Commission | ||||||||||||||||||
In March 2022, Yoon Suk-yeol, the candidate of the conservative opposition People Power Party, won a close election over Democratic Party candidate Lee Jae-myung by the narrowest margin ever. On 10 May 2022, Yoon was sworn in as South Korea's new president.[5]
Legislative election
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
Administrative divisions
One Special City (Teukbyeolsi, Capital City), six Metropolitan Cities (Gwangyeoksi, singular and plural), nine Provinces (Do, singular and plural) and one Special Autonomous City (Sejong City).
- Seoul Teukbyeolsi (서울특별시)
- Busan Gwangyeoksi (부산광역시)
- Daegu Gwangyeoksi (대구광역시)
- Incheon Gwangyeoksi (인천광역시)
- Daejeon Gwangyeoksi (대전광역시)
- Gwangju Gwangyeoksi (광주광역시)
- Ulsan Gwangyeoksi (울산광역시)
- Gyeonggi-do (경기도)
- Gangwon-do (강원도)
- Chungcheongbuk-do (충청북도)
- Chungcheongnam-do (충청남도)
- Jeollabuk-do (전라북도)
- Jeollanam-do (전라남도)
- Gyeongsangbuk-do (경상북도)
- Gyeongsangnam-do (경상남도)
- Jeju Teukbyeoljachi-do (제주특별자치도)
- Sejong Teukbyeol-jachisi (세종특별자치시)
Foreign relations
South Korea is a member of the
- African Development Bank
- Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation
- Asian Development Bank
- Bank for International Settlements
- Colombo Plan
- European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
- United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
- Food and Agriculture Organization
- Group of 77
- International Atomic Energy Agency
- International Bank for Reconstruction and Development
- International Civil Aviation Organization
- International Criminal Court
- International Chamber of Commerce
- International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement
- International Development Association
- International Energy Agency (observer)
- International Fund for Agricultural Development
- International Finance Corporation
- International Hydrographic Organization
- International Labour Organization
- International Monetary Fund
- International Maritime Organization
- International Mobile Satellite Organization
- Intelsat
- Interpol
- International Olympic Committee
- International Organization for Migration
- International Organization for Standardization
- International Telecommunication Union
- International Trade Union Confederation
- United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara
- Non-Aligned Movement (guest)
- Nuclear Suppliers Group
- Organization of American States (observer)
- OECD
- Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons
- Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (partner)
- United Nations
- United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
- UNESCO
- United Nations Industrial Development Organization
- UN mediation of the Kashmir dispute
- United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia
- United Nations University
- Universal Postal Union
- World Customs Organization
- World Health Organization
- World Intellectual Property Organization
- World Meteorological Organization
- World Tourism Organization
- World Trade Organization
- Zangger Committee
See also
Notes
References
External links
