Politics_of_South_Korea

Politics of South Korea

Politics of South Korea

Political system of South Korea

This article is about the politics of the Republic of Korea. For other uses, see Politics of Korea (disambiguation). For the article about the politics of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, see Politics of North Korea.

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.

Quick Facts Politics of the Republic of Korea 대한민국의 정치 (Korean), Polity type ...
Separation of powers and the election system of South Korea

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

Main article: Government of South Korea

Executive branch

More information Office, Name ...

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

Main article: National Assembly of South Korea
National Assembly of South Korea in Seoul

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

Main article: Judiciary of South Korea

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

For other political parties, see Political parties in South Korea. An overview on elections and election results is included in Elections in South Korea.

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.

More information Group, Floor leader ...

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.

This graph traces the recent origins of all six main political parties currently in the Republic of Korea, all of which have either split from or merged with other parties in the last four years. They have emerged from four main ideological camps, from Left to Right: Progressive (socialist), liberal, centrist, and conservative.

Latest elections

Presidential election

Main article: 2022 South Korean presidential election
More information Candidate, Party ...

By region

Major candidates

Breakdown of votes by region for candidates with at least 1% of the total votes.

More information Region, Yoon Suk Yeol ...

Minor candidates

Breakdown of votes by region for candidates with less than 1% of the total votes.

More information Region, HuhKyung-young ...

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

Main article: 2020 South Korean 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

Main article: Administrative divisions of South Korea
See also: Provinces of Korea, Special cities of South Korea, and Special cities of South Korea

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).

Foreign relations

Further information: Foreign relations of South Korea and Indo-Pacific Strategy of South Korea

South Korea is a member of the

See also

Notes

    References

    1. [1]
      "Democracy Index 2022: Frontline democracy and the battle for Ukraine" (PDF). Economist Intelligence Unit. 2023. Retrieved 2023-02-09.
    2. [2]
      V-Dem Institute (2023). "The V-Dem Dataset". Archived from the original on 8 December 2022. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
    3. [3]
      "Korea, South". The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. Archived from the original on 29 January 2021. Retrieved 30 May 2017.
    4. [4]
      "Yoon Suk-yeol sworn in as South Korea's new president". The Korea Times. 10 May 2022. Archived from the original on 23 September 2022. Retrieved 23 September 2022.
    5. [5]
      "Who is South Korea's new president Yoon Suk-yeol?". France 24. 10 May 2022. Archived from the original on 23 September 2022. Retrieved 23 September 2022.
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