South Korea

South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (Hangul: ????, Daehan Minguk {{audio|ko-Daehan_Minguk.ogg|listen}};), is a country located in East Asia, in the southern half of the Korean Peninsula. It is commonly called Hanguk (Han Nation) or Namhan (South Han) by South Koreans and Namjos?n (South Chos?n) by North Korea.

Government and Politics

Main article: Politics of South Korea

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The Republic of Korea is a developed, stable, democratic republic with powers shared between the president and the legislature.

Related Topics:
Democratic - Republic - President - Legislature

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The head of state of the Republic of Korea is the president, who is elected by direct popular vote for a single five-year term. In addition to being the highest representative of the republic and commander-in-chief of the armed forces, the president also has considerable executive powers and appoints the prime minister with approval of parliament, as well as appointing and presiding over the State Council or cabinet.

Related Topics:
Head of state - Executive - Prime minister - Cabinet

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The unicameral Korean parliament is the National Assembly or Gukhoe (??), whose members serve a four-year term of office. The legislature currently has 299 seats, of which 243 are elected by regional vote and the remainder are distributed by the proportional representation ballot. The highest judiciary body is the Supreme Court, whose justices are appointed by the president with the consent of parliament. Since 1948, South Korea has been governed under six constitutions. Each constitution signifies a new South Korean republic. The current government is known as the Sixth Republic under the 1988 constitution.

Related Topics:
Unicameral - Parliament - National Assembly - Judiciary - 1948

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The main political parties in South Korea are the Uri Party, the Grand National Party (GNP), the Democratic Labor Party (DLP), and the Democratic Party (DP). In late 2003 a faction of the Millennium Democratic Party (later DP) split from the party and formed the liberal Uri Party, which gained a slim majority in the National Assembly in the April 2004 legislative elections but failed to secure it after subsequent reelections. The conservative GNP and centrist DP form the political opposition. The left-wing DLP, which is aligned with labor unions, represents the interests of the working class.

Related Topics:
Uri Party - Grand National Party - Democratic Labor Party - Democratic Party - 2003 - 2004 - Labor unions

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