Politics of South Korea

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South Korea
This article is part of the series: Politics and government of South Korea

Sixth Republic Constitution Government President (list) Roh Moo-hyun Prime Minister (list) Kwon O-kyu (acting) Cabinet Ministries National Assembly Supreme Court Chief Justice Elections 2002 - 2004 - 2007 Political parties Uri - GNP - DLP - DP - PFP Korean reunification Sunshine policy Divisions Human rights Foreign relations
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Politics of South Korea takes place in a framework of a presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the President is the head of state, and of a pluriform multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. 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. 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 in 1988.

1 Executive branch
2 Legislative branch
3 Political parties and elections
4 Political pressure groups and leaders
5 Judicial branch
6 Administrative divisions
7 International organization participation
8 See also
9 External links

[edit] Executive branch

Main office holders
Office	Name	Party	Since
President	Roh Moo-hyun, 노무현	Uri Party	25 February 2003
Prime Minister	Han Myeong Sook, 한명숙	Uri Party	20 April 2006

The head of state is the president, who is elected by direct popular vote for a single five-year term. In addition to being the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, the president also has 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. The president was suspended from March 12 to May 14, 2004 while the Constitutional Court deliberated Roh's impeachment vote in the National Assembly.

[edit] Legislative branch

The National Assembly (국회, 國會, gukhoe) has 299 members, elected for a four year term, 243 members in single-seat constituencies and 56 members by proportional representation.

[edit] 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 (Gukhwe) has 299 members, elected for a four year term, 243 members in single-seat constituencies and 56 members by proportional representation. 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). 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-elections. The conservative GNP and centrist DP form the dominant political opposition. The socialist DLP is aligned with labour unions and farmers' groups.

[discuss] – [edit]
**Summary of the 15 April 2004 National Assembly of South Korea election results**
Parties	Votes	%	+/−	Seats	+/−
Uri Party (열린우리당, Yeollin Uri-dang)	8,145,824	38.3	—	152	+105
Grand National Party (한나라당, Hannara-dang)	7,613,660	35.8	−3.2	121	−24
Democratic Labour Party (민주노동당, Minju Nodong-dang)	2,773,769	13.0	—	10	+10
Millennium Democratic Party (새천년민주당, Saecheonnyeon Minju-dang)	1,510,178	7.1	−28.8	9	−53
United Liberal Democrats (자유민주연합, Jayu Minju Yeonhap)	600,462	2.8	−7.0	4	−6
Others	642,091	0.3	—	3	−6
Total (60 % out of 35,596,497 registered voters)	21,285,984	100.0		299

Main article: South Korean parliamentary election, 2004

[discuss] – [edit]
**Summary of the 19 December 2002 South Korean presidential election results**
Candidates and nominating parties	Votes	%
Roh Moo-hyun, 노무현 - Millennium Democratic Party (Sae Cheonnyeon Minjudang)	12,014,277	49.0
Lee Hoi-chang, 이회창 - Grand National Party (Hannara Dang)	11,443,297	46.5
Kwon Young-ghil, 권영길 - Democratic Labour Party (Minju Nodongdang)	957,148	3.9
Total (turnout 70.8 %)
Source: Digital Chosun Ilbo

Main article: South Korean presidential election, 2002

Before the April 2004 election, the GNP had 146 seats, the MDP 62 seats, the Uri Party 47 seats and the ULD 5 seats in the 273-seat Assembly. 2 seats were vacant and there were 10 independents. The MDP was renamed to Democratic Party in 2005. Furthermore, the Uri Party lost seats in by-elections held in April and October of 2005.

[edit] 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

[edit] Judicial branch

The South Korean judiciary is independent of the other two branches. The highest judiciary 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.

[edit] Administrative divisions

(Main article: Administrative divisions of South Korea. For historical information, see Provinces of Korea and Special cities of Korea)

One Special City (Teukbyeolsi, Capital City), six Metropolitan Cities (Gwangyeoksi, singular and plural, A city with more than one million residents can become this one.), and nine Provinces (Do, singular and plural).