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The Government of South Korea is divided into executive, judicial, and legislative branches. The executive and judicial branches operate primarily at the national level, although various ministries in the executive branch also carry out local functions. Local governments are semi-autonomous, and contain executive and legislative bodies of their own. The judicial branch operates at both the national and local levels. The South Korean government's structure is determined by the Constitution of the Republic of Korea. This document has been revised several times since its first promulgation in 1948 (for details, see History of South Korea). However, it has retained many broad characteristics; with the exception of the short-lived Second Republic of South Korea, the country has always had a presidential system with a relatively independent chief executive. The current structure is a semi-presidential system.
As with most stable three-branch systems, a careful system of checks and balances is in place. For instance, the judges of the Constitutional Court are partially appointed by the executive, and partially by the legislature. Likewise, when a resolution of impeachment is passed by the legislature, it is sent to the judiciary for a final decision.
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The executive branch is headed by the president. The president is elected directly by the people, and is the only elected member of the national executive. The president serves for one five-year term; additional terms are not permitted. The president is head of government, head of state, and commander in chief of the South Korean armed forces. The president is vested with the power to declare war, and can also propose legislation to the National Assembly. He can also declare a state of emergency or martial law, subject to the Assembly's subsequent approval. However, the president does not have the power to dissolve the National Assembly. This safeguard reflects the experience of totalitarian governments under the First, Third, and Fourth Republics.
In the event that they are suspected of serious wrongdoing, the president and cabinet-level officials are subject to impeachment by the National Assembly. Once the National Assembly votes in favor of the impeachment the Constitutional Court should either confirm or reject the impeachment resolution, once again reflecting the system of checks and balances between the three branches of the government.
The president is assisted in his duties by the Prime Minister of South Korea as well as the Presidential Secretariat. The Prime Minister is appointed by the president and approved by the National Assembly, and has the power to recommend the appointment or dismissal of cabinet ministers. The Prime Minister is assisted in his duties by the Prime Minister's Office, headed by a cabinet-level minister. In the event that the president is unable to fulfill his duties, the Prime Minister assumes the president's powers and takes control of the state until the president can once again fulfill his duties or until a new president is elected.
The State Council is made up of the president, the Prime Minister, and 16 cabinet-level ministers. All but 1 minister, the Minister for Special Affairs (특임장관, 特任長官), represent the 15 ministries of the South Korean government. The Council is charged with deliberating on major policy decisions. Its meetings are chaired by the president and officiated by the Prime Minister (the Prime Minister chairs the meetings if the President is not present). Although the Council has no power to make final decisions, the Constitution requires that certain matters be brought to it before final decisions are made. These include bestowals of state honors, drafts of constitutional amendments, declarations of war, budget proposals, government restructurings, and emergency orders.
The ministers are appointed by the president and report to the Prime Minister. Also, some ministries have affiliated agencies (listed below), which reports both to the Prime Minister and to the minister of the affiliated ministry. Each affiliated agency is headed by a vice-minister-level commissioner.
※ Note that the respective ministers of the above ministries assume the president's position in the above order, in the event that the president cannot perform his duty and the prime minister cannot assume the president's position. Also note that the Constitution and the affiliated laws of the Republic of Korea stipulates only as far as the Prime Minister and the 15 ministers listed above who can assume the president's position.
The agencies listed below report directly either to the President or to the Prime Minister.
At the national level, the legislative branch consists of the National Assembly of South Korea. This is a unicameral legislature; it consists of a single large assembly. Most of its 299 members are elected from single-member constituencies; however, 56 are elected through proportional representation. The members of the National Assembly serve for four years; in the event that a member is unable to complete his or her term, a by-election is held. The National Assembly is charged with deliberating and passing legislation, auditing the budget and administrative procedures, ratifying treaties, and approving state appointments. In addition, it has the power to impeach or recommend the removal of high officials.
The Assembly forms 17 standing committees to deliberate matters of detailed policy. For the most part, these coincide with the ministries of the executive branch.
Bills pass through these committees before they reach the floor. However, before they reach committee, they must already have gained the support of at least 20 members, unless they have been introduced by the president. To secure final passage, a bill must be approved by a majority of those present; a tie vote is not sufficient. After passage, bills are sent to the president for approval; they must be approved within 15 days.
Each year, the budget bill is submitted to the National Assembly by the executive. By law, it must be submitted at least 90 days before the start of the fiscal year, and the final version must be approved at least 30 days before the start of the fiscal year. The Assembly is also responsible for auditing accounts of past expenditures, which must be submitted at least 120 days before the start of the fiscal year.
Sessions of the Assembly may be either regular (once a year, for no more than 100 days) or extraordinary (by request of the president or a caucus, no more than 30 days). These sessions are open-door by default, but can be closed to the public by majority vote or by decree of the Speaker. In order for laws to be passed in any session, a quorum of half the members must be present.
Currently, five political parties are represented in the National Assembly.
The judicial branch includes the Constitutional Court, the Supreme Court, regional appellate courts, and local district, branch, municipal, and specialized courts. All courts are under the jurisdiction of the national judiciary; independent local courts are not permitted. Judges throughout the system are required to have passed a rigorous training system including a two-year program and two-year apprenticeship. All judicial training is provided through the Judicial Research and Training Institute, and is limited to those who have already passed the National Judicial Examination.
The Constitutional Court is the head of the judicial branch of government. The Constitutional Court is charged purely with constitutional review and with deciding cases of impeachment. Other judicial matters are overseen by the Supreme Court. This system was newly established in the Sixth Republic, to help guard against the excesses shown by past regimes. The Constitutional Court consists of nine justices. Of these, three are recommended by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, three by the National Assembly, and three by the president; however, all must be appointed by the president. The President of the Constitutional Court is appointed by the national president, subject to the approval of the National Assembly. The members of the court serve for six-year renewable terms, and cannot be older than 65 (except for the President of the court, who may be as old as 70).
The Supreme Court is the final court of appeal for all cases in South Korean law. The Supreme Court, seated in Seoul, consists of fourteen Justices, including one Chief Justice. The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court has the power over all court administration, and can recommend court-related legislation to the National Assembly. The Justices must be at least 40 years old, and have at least 15 years of experience practicing law. They serve for six-year terms; the Chief Justice cannot be reappointed, but the other justices can.
Below the Supreme Court come appellate courts, stationed in five of the country's major cities. Appellate courts typically consist of a panel of three judges. Below these are district courts, which exist in most of the large cities of South Korea. Below these are branch and municipal courts, positioned all over the country and limited to small claims and petty offenses. Specialized courts also exist for family, administrative, and patent cases.
Local autonomy was established as a constitutional principle of South Korea beginning with the First Republic. However, for much of the 20th century this principle was not honored. From 1965 to 1995, local governments were run directly by provincial governments, which were run directly by the national government. However, since the elections of 1995, a degree of local autonomy has been restored. Local magistrates and assemblies are elected in each of the primary and secondary administrative divisions of South Korea, that is, in every province, metropolitan or special city, and district. Officials at lower levels, such as eup and dong, are appointed by the city or county government.
As noted above, local autonomy does not extend to the judicial branch. It also does not yet extend to many other areas, including fire protection and education, which are managed by independent national agencies. Local governments also have very limited policy-making authority; generally, the most that they can do is decide how national policies will be implemented. However, there is some political pressure for the scope of local autonomy to be extended.
Although the chief executive of each district is locally elected, deputy executives are still appointed by the central government. It is these deputy officials who have detailed authority over most administrative matters.
The South Korean civil service is large, and remains a largely closed system, although efforts at openness and reform are ongoing. In order to gain a position in civil service, it is usually necessary to pass one or more difficult examinations. Positions have traditionally been handed out based on seniority, in a complex graded system; however, this system was substantially reformed in 1998.
There are more than 800,000 civil servants in South Korea today. More than half of these are employed by the central government; only about 300,000 are employed by local governments. In addition, only a few thousand each are employed by the national legislative and judicial branches; the overwhelming majority are employed in the various ministries of the executive branch. The size of the civil service increased steadily from the 1950s to the late 1990s, but has dropped slightly since 1995.
The civil service, not including political appointees and elected officials, is composed of career civil servants and contract civil servants. Contract servants are typically paid higher wages and hired for specific jobs. Career civil servants make up the bulk of the civil service, and are arranged in a nine-tiered system in which grade 1 is occupied by assistant ministers and grade 9 by the newest and lowest-level employees. Promotions are decided by a combination of seniority, training, and performance review. Civil servants' base salary makes up less than half of their annual pay; the remainder is supplied in a complex system of bonuses. Contract civil servants are paid on the basis of the competitive rates of pay in the private sector.
Elections are overseen by the National Election Commission (Republic of Korea).