South Korea: Government#
| Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Korea conventional short form: South Korea local long form: Taehan-min'guk local short form: Han'guk abbreviation: ROK etymology: derived from the Chinese name for Goryeo, which was the Korean dynasty that united the peninsula in the 10th century A.D.; the South Korean name "Han'guk" means "land of the Han," where "han" may have its origins in the native root for "great (leader)" (similar to the title "khan") |
|---|---|
| Government type | presidential republic |
| Capital | Seoul; note - Sejong, located some 120 km (75 mi) south of Seoul, is being developed as a new capital
Seoul, note - Sejong, located some 120 km (75 mi) south of Seoul, ...
geographic coordinates: 37 33 N, 126 59 E time difference: UTC+9 (14 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time) |
| Administrative divisions | 9 provinces (do, singular and plural), 6 metropolitan cities (gwangyeoksi, singular and plural), 1 special city (teugbyeolsi), and 1 special self-governing city (teukbyeoljachisi)provinces: Chungbuk (North Chungcheong), Chungnam (South Chungcheong), Gangwon, Gyeongbuk (North Gyeongsang), Gyeonggi, Gyeongnam (South Gyeongsang), Jeju, Jeonbuk (North Jeolla), Jeonnam (South Jeolla) metropolitan cities: Busan (Pusan), Daegu (Taegu), Daejeon (Taejon), Gwangju (Kwangju), Incheon (Inch'on), Ulsan special city: Seoul special self-governing city: Sejong |
| Independence | 15 August 1945 (from Japan) |
| National holiday | Liberation Day, 15 August (1945) |
| Constitution | effective 17 July 1948; amended several times, last in 1987 (2016) |
| Legal system | mixed legal system combining European civil law, Anglo-American law, and Chinese classical thought |
| International law organization participation | has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction |
| Citizenship | citizenship by birth: no citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a citizen of South Korea dual citizenship recognized: no residency requirement for naturalization: 5 years |
| Suffrage | 19 years of age; universal |
| Executive branch | chief of state: Acting President HWANG Kyo-ahn (since 9 December 2016); note - President PARK Geun-hye (since 25 February 2013) was impeached by the National Assembly on 9 December 2016 and awaits the final decision of the Constitutional Court head of government: Prime Minister HWANG Kyo-ahn (since 18 June 2015); Deputy Prime Ministers YOO Il-ho (since 13 January 2016), LEE Joon-sik (since 13 January 2016) cabinet: State Council appointed by the president on the prime minister's recommendation elections/appointments: president directly elected by simple majority popular vote for a single 5-year term; election last held on 19 December 2012 (next to be held in December 2017); prime minister appointed by president with consent of National Assembly election results: PARK Geun-Hye elected president; percent of vote - PARK Geun-Hye (NFP) 51.6%, MOON Jae-In (DUP) 48%, other 0.4% |
| Legislative branch | description: unicameral National Assembly or Kuk Hoe (300 seats; 246 members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote and 54 directly elected in a single national constituency by proportional representation vote; members serve 4-year terms) elections: last held on 13 April 2016 (next to be held in 2020) election results: percent of vote by party - Saenuri 33.5%, PP 26.7%, MPK 25.5%, Justice Party 7.2%, other 7.1%; seats by party - MPK 123, Saenuri 122, PP 38, Justice Party 6, independent 11 note: seats by party as of December 2016 - DP 121, Saenuri 99, PP 38, New Conservative Party for Reform 30, Justice Party 6, independent 6; the tentatively named New Conservative Party for reform, which will be launched 24 January 2017 |
| Judicial branch | highest court(s): Supreme Court of South Korea (consists of a chief justice and 13 justices); Constitutional Court (consists of a court head and 8 justices) judge selection and term of office: Supreme Court chief justice appointed by the president with the consent of the National Assembly; other justices appointed by the president upon the recommendation of the chief justice and consent of the National Assembly; position of the chief justice is a 6-year non-renewable term; other justices serve 6-year renewable terms; Constitutional Court justices appointed - 3 by the president, 3 by the National Assembly, and 3 by the Supreme Court chief justice; court head serves until retirement at age 70, while other justices serve 6-year renewable terms with mandatory retirement at age 65 subordinate courts: High Courts; District Courts; Branch Courts (organized under the District Courts); specialized courts for family and administrative issues |
| Political parties and leaders | Democratic Party or DP (CHOO Mi-ae) (renamed from Minjoo Party of Korea or MPK in October 2016; formerly New Politics Alliance for Democracy or NPAD, which was a merger of the Democratic Party or DP (formerly DUP) (KIM Han-gil) and the New Political Vision Party or NPVP (AHN Cheol-soo) in March 2014) Justice Party (SIM Sang-jeong) New Conservative Party for Reform (Joo Ho-young) (tentatively named new party to be launched 24 January 2017) New Frontier Party (NFP) or Saenuri (formerly Grand National Party) (In Myung-jin, interim leader) People's Party or PP (KIM Dong-cheol, interim leader) |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | Catholic Priests' Association for Justice Christian Council of Korea Citizen's Coalition for Economic Justice Federation of Korean Industries Federation of Korean Trade Unions Korean Confederation of Trade Unions Korean Veterans' Association Lawyers for a Democratic Society National Council of Churches in Korea People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy |
| International organization participation | ADB, AfDB (nonregional member), APEC, Arctic Council (observer), ARF, ASEAN (dialogue partner), Australia Group, BIS, CD, CICA, CP, EAS, EBRD, FAO, FATF, G-20, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), LAIA (observer), MIGA, MINURSO, MINUSTAH, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE (partner), Pacific Alliance (observer), Paris Club (associate), PCA, PIF (partner), SAARC (observer), SICA (observer), UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNMIL, UNMISS, UNMOGIP, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC |
| Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador AHN Ho-young (since 7 June 2013) chancery: 2450 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: (1) (202) 939-5600 FAX: (1) (202) 797-0595 consulate(s) general: Agana (Guam), Anchorage (AK), Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Honolulu, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Seattle |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Mark William LIPPERT (since 21 November 2014) embassy: 188 Sejong-daero, Jongno-gu, Seoul 110-710 mailing address: US Embassy Seoul, Unit telephone: (82) (2) 397-4114 FAX: (82) (2) 725-0152 |
| Flag description | 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; the South Korean national flag is called Taegukki; white is a traditional Korean color and represents peace and purity; the blue section represents the negative cosmic forces of the yin, while the red symbolizes the opposite positive forces of the yang; each trigram (kwae) denotes one of the four universal elements, which together express the principle of movement and harmony |
| National symbol(s) | taegeuk (yin yang symbol), Hibiscus syriacus (Rose of Sharon); national colors: red, white, blue, black |
| National anthem | name: "Aegukga" (Patriotic Song) lyrics/music: YUN Ch'i-Ho or AN Ch'ang-Ho/AHN Eaktay note: adopted 1948, well-known by 1910; both North Korea's and South Korea's anthems share the same name and have a vaguely similar melody but have different lyrics |