| South Korea |
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Politics of the Republic of Korea takes place in the framework of a semi-presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the President is the head of state, and of a 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.
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| Office | Name | Party | Since |
|---|---|---|---|
| President | Lee Myung-bak | Grand National Party | 25 February 2008 |
| Prime Minister | Kim Hwang-sik | Grand National Party | 1 October 2010 |
The head of state is the president, who is elected by direct popular vote for a single five-year term. The president is Commander-in-Chief of the armed force of South Korea 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.
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.
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 United Democratic Party (evolved from 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.
| Candidate | Party | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lee Myung-bak | Grand National Party | 11,492,389 | 48.7 |
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| Chung Dong-young | United New Democratic Party | 6,174,681 | 26.1 |
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| Lee Hoi-chang | Independent | 3,559,963 | 15.1 |
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| Moon Kook-hyun | Creative Korea Party | 1,375,498 | 5.8 |
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| Kwon Young-ghil | Democratic Labor Party | 712,121 | 3.0 |
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| Lee In-je | Centrist Reformists Democratic Party | 160,708 | 0.7 |
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| Huh Kyung-young | Economic Republican Party | 96,756 | 0.4 |
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| Geum Min | Korea Socialist Party | 18,223 | 0.1 |
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| Total (turnout 62.9%) | 23,732,854 | 100.0 | ||
| Source: NEC (National Election Commission) | ||||
| Ideology and parties | Local seats | +/− | Block seats | +/− | Votes | % | PR block votes | % | Total seats | +/- | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand National Party (GNP) Hannara-dang – 한나라당 | 131 | +31 | 22 | +1 | 7,478,776 | 43.45& | 6,421,727 | 37.48% | 153 | +32 | |
| Liberty Forward Party (LFP) Jayu Seonjin-dang – 자유선진당 | 14 | +14 | 4 | +4 | 984,751 | 5.72% | 1,173,463 | 6.84% | 18 | +18 | |
| Pro-Park Coalition1 Chin-bak Yeon-dae – 친박연대 | 6 | +6 | 8 | +8 | 637,351 | 3.70% | 2,258,750 | 13.18 | 14 | +14 | |
| Conservatives | 151 | +51 | 34 | +13 | 9,100,879 | 52.87% | 9,853,940 | 57.50% | 185 | +64 | |
| United Democratic Party2 (UDP) Daetonghap Minju-sindang – 통합민주당 | 66 | +66 | 15 | +15 | 4,977,508 | 28.92% | 4,313,645 | 25.17% | 81 | +81 | |
| Creative Korea Party (CKP) Changjo Hanguk-dang – 창조한국당 | 1 | +1 | 2 | +2 | 72,803 | 0.42% | 651,993 | 3.80% | 3 | +3 | |
| Liberal / Centrist | 67 | +67 | 17 | +17 | 5,050,311 | 29.34% | 7,965,638 | 27.28% | 84 | +84 | |
| Democratic Labor Party (DLP) Minju Nodong-dang – 민주노동당 | 2 | ±0 | 4 | -4 | 583,665 | 3.39% | 973,445 | 5.68% | 5 | -5 | |
| New Progressive Party (NPP) Jinbo Shin-dang – 진보신당 | 0 | ±0 | 0 | ±0 | 229,500 | 1.33% | 504,466 | 2.94% | 0 | ±0 | |
| Progressive | 2 | ±0 | 4 | -4 | 813,165 | 4.72 | 1477911 | 8.62 | 5 | -5 | |
| Other parties | 0 | ±0 | 0 | ±0 | 341,010 | 1.98 | 834,048 | 4.83 | 0 | ±0 | |
| Independents | 25 | +23 | — | — | 1,907,326 | 11.08 | — | — | 25 | +23 | |
| Total (turnout 46.0%) | 245 | — | 54 | — | 17,212,690 | 100.0% | 17,131,537 | 100.0% | 299 | — | |
1Later changed to Future Hope Alliance.
2Later changed to Democratic Party.
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. South Korea has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction.
(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.), and nine Provinces (Do, singular and plural).
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