Politics of South Korea

This article is about the politics of the Republic of Korea. For other uses, see Politics of Korea (disambiguation). For the article about the politics of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, see Politics of North Korea.

The politics of South Korea take place in the framework of a presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the president is the head of state, and of a multi-party system. To ensure a separation of powers, the Republic of Korea Government is made up of three branches: legislative, executive, and judicial. The government exercises executive power and 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.

Politics of the Republic of Korea 대한민국의 정치 (Korean)
National emblem of the Republic of Korea
Polity type	Unitary presidential constitutional republic
Constitution	Constitution of the Republic of Korea
Legislative branch
Name	National Assembly
Type	Unicameral
Meeting place	National Assembly Building
Presiding officer	Kim Jin-pyo, Speaker of the National Assembly
Executive branch
Head of State and Government
Title	President
Currently	Yoon Suk Yeol
Appointer	Direct popular vote
Cabinet
Name	State Council
Leader	President
Deputy leader	Prime Minister
Appointer	President
Headquarters	Yongsan, Seoul
Ministries	18
Judicial branch
Name	Judiciary of South Korea
Supreme Court
Chief judge	Cho Hee-dae
Constitutional Court
Chief judge	Lee Jongseok

Separation of powers and the election system of South Korea

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 that took effect in 1988. From its founding until the June Democratic Struggle, the South Korean political system operated under a military authoritarian regime, with the freedom of assembly, association, expression, press and religion as well as civil society activism being tightly restricted. During that period, there were no freely elected national leaders, political opposition is suppressed, dissent was not permitted and civil rights were curtailed.

The Economist Intelligence Unit rated South Korea a "full democracy" in 2022.^[1] According to the V-Dem Democracy indices South Korea was 2023 the third most electoral democratic country in Asia.^[2]

National government

Main article: Government of South Korea

Executive branch

Main office-holders

Office	Name	Party	Since
President	Yoon Suk Yeol	People Power Party	10 May 2022
Prime Minister	Han Duck-soo	Independent	22 May 2022

The head of state is the president, who is elected by direct popular vote for a single five-year^[3] term. The president is Commander-in-Chief of the Republic of Korea Armed Forces 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.

On 10 May 2022, Yoon Suk Yeol succeeded Moon Jae-in as president of South Korea.^[4]

Legislative branch

Main article: National Assembly of South Korea

 

National Assembly of South Korea in Seoul

The National Assembly (Korean: 국회; Hanja: 國會; RR: gukhoe) has 300 members, elected for a four-year term, 253 members in single-seat constituencies and 47 members by proportional representation. The ruling Democratic Party of Korea is the largest party in the Assembly.

Judicial branch

Main article: Judiciary of South Korea

The South Korean judiciary is independent of the other two branches of government, and is composed of two different highest courts. Inferior ordinary courts are under the Supreme Court, whose justices are appointed by the president of South Korea with the consent of the National Assembly. In addition, the Constitutional Court oversees questions of constitutionality, as single and the only court whose justices are appointed by the president of South Korea by equal portion of nomination from the president, the National Assembly, and the Supreme Court Chief justice. South Korea has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction.

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 (Gukhoe) has 300 members, elected for a four-year term, 253 members in single-seat constituencies and 47 members by proportional representation.

The main two political parties in South Korea are the liberal Democratic Party of Korea (lit. "Together Democratic Party", DPK) and the conservative People Power Party (PPP), formerly the United Future Party (UFP). The liberal camp and the conservative camp are the dominant forces of South Korean politics at present.

Parties in the 21st National Assembly

Group	Floor leader	Seats		% of seats
▌Democratic Party	Hong Ihk-pyo	156^[a]		46.8%
▌People Power	Yoon Jae-ok	114^[b]		34.2%
▌Green-Justice	Sim Sang-jung	6		1.8%
▌New Future	Kim Jong-min	5		1.5%
▌New Reform	Yang Hyang-ja	4		1.2%
▌Progressive	Kang Sung-hee	1		0.3%
▌Rebuilding Korea Party	Hwang Un-ha	1		0.3%
▌Liberal Unification Party	Hwangbo Seung-hee	1		0.3%
▌Independents		9		3.0%
▌Vacant		3		0.9%
Total		300		100.0%
Notes: Negotiation groups can be formed by 20 or more members. Including 14 seats held by the Democratic Alliance of Korea Including 13 seats held by the People's Future Party

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Political nature

South Korea's political history has always been prone to splits from and merges with other parties. One reason is that there is a greater emphasis around the 'politics of the individual' rather than the party; therefore, party loyalty is not strong when disagreements occur. The graph below illustrates the extent of the political volatility within the last 10 years alone. These splits were intensified after the 2016 South Korean political scandal.

 

This graph traces the recent origins of all six main political parties currently in the Republic of Korea, all of which have either split from or merged with other parties in the last four years. They have emerged from four main ideological camps, from Left to Right: Progressive (socialist), liberal, centrist, and conservative.

Latest elections

Presidential election

Main article: 2022 South Korean presidential election

Candidate		Party	Votes	%
	Yoon Suk Yeol	People Power Party	16,394,815	48.56
	Lee Jae-myung	Democratic Party of Korea	16,147,738	47.83
	Sim Sang-jung	Justice Party	803,358	2.38
	Huh Kyung-young	National Revolutionary Party	281,481	0.83
	Kim Jae-yeon	Progressive Party	37,366	0.11
	Cho Won-jin	Our Republican Party	25,972	0.08
	Oh Jun-ho	Basic Income Party	18,105	0.05
	Kim Min-chan	Korean Wave Alliance	17,305	0.05
	Lee Gyeong-hee	Korean Unification	11,708	0.03
	Lee Baek-yun	Labor Party	9,176	0.03
	Kim Gyeong-jae	New Liberal Democratic Union	8,317	0.02
	Ok Un-ho	Saenuri Party	4,970	0.01
Total			33,760,311	100.00
Valid votes			33,760,311	99.10
Invalid/blank votes			307,542	0.90
Total votes			34,067,853	100.00
Registered voters/turnout			44,197,692	77.08
Source: Election results

By region

Major candidates

Breakdown of votes by region for candidates with at least 1% of the total votes.

Region	Yoon Suk Yeol		Lee Jae-myung		Sim Sang-jung
	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%
Seoul	3,255,747	50.6	2,944,981	45.7	180,324	2.8
Busan	1,270,072	58.3	831,896	38.1	47,541	2.2
Daegu	1,199,888	75.1	345,045	21.6	31,131	1.9
Incheon	878,560	47.1	913,320	48.9	51,852	2.8
Gwangju	124,511	12.7	830,058	84.8	14,865	1.5
Daejeon	464,060	49.6	434,950	46.4	25,445	2.7
Ulsan	396,321	54.4	297,134	40.8	21,292	2.9
Sejong	101,491	44.1	119,349	51.9	6,780	2.9
Gyeonggi	3,965,341	45.6	4,428,151	50.9	205,709	2.4
Gangwon	544,980	54.2	419,644	41.7	25,031	2.5
North Chungcheong	511,921	50.7	455,853	45.1	26,557	2.6
South Chungcheong	670,283	51.1	589,991	45.0	31,789	2.4
North Jeolla	176,809	14.4	1,016,863	83.0	19,451	1.6
South Jeolla	145,549	11.4	1,094,872	86.1	16,279	1.3
North Gyeongsang	1,278,922	72.8	418,371	23.8	33,123	1.9
South Gyeongsang	1,237,346	58.2	794,130	37.4	52,591	2.5
Jeju	173,014	42.7	213,130	52.6	13,598	3.4
Total	16,394,815	48.6	16,147,738	47.8	803,358	2.4
Source: National Election Commission

Minor candidates

Breakdown of votes by region for candidates with less than 1% of the total votes.

Region	Huh Kyung-young		Kim Jae-yeon		Cho Won-jin		Oh Jun-ho		Kim Min-chan		Lee Gyeong-hee		Lee Baek-yun		Kim Gyeong-jae		Ok Un-ho
	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%
Seoul	36,540	0.6	5,615	0.1	4,657	0.1	3,829	0.1	1,907	0.0	1,333	0.0	1,571	0.0	1,791	0.0	844	0.0
Busan	21,990	1.0	2,799	0.1	1,867	0.1	1,071	0.0	942	0.0	575	0.0	546	0.0	527	0.0	352	0.0
Daegu	13,941	0.9	938	0.1	2,824	0.2	892	0.1	619	0.0	472	0.0	344	0.0	451	0.0	261	0.0
Incheon	16,733	0.9	1,593	0.1	1,378	0.1	1,116	0.1	758	0.0	511	0.0	508	0.0	449	0.0	276	0.0
Gwangju	6,138	0.6	1,366	0.1	112	0.0	434	0.0	455	0.0	188	0.0	242	0.0	140	0.0	92	0.0
Daejeon	8,593	0.9	958	0.1	588	0.1	566	0.1	395	0.0	258	0.0	223	0.0	227	0.0	138	0.0
Ulsan	9,234	1.3	2,180	0.3	685	0.1	375	0.1	333	0.0	234	0.0	308	0.0	185	0.0	109	0.0
Sejong	1,594	0.7	181	0.1	121	0.1	100	0.0	88	0.0	66	0.0	50	0.0	48	0.0	23	0.0
Gyeonggi	63,207	0.7	8,768	0.1	5,897	0.1	4,151	0.0	3,192	0.0	1,927	0.0	1,919	0.0	1,990	0.0	1,124	0.0
Gangwon	11,668	1.2	1,260	0.1	824	0.1	582	0.1	560	0.1	525	0.1	323	0.0	262	0.0	181	0.0
North Chungcheong	11,165	1.1	1,083	0.1	779	0.1	614	0.1	653	0.1	698	0.1	385	0.0	288	0.0	213	0.0
South Chungcheong	14,169	1.1	1,586	0.1	899	0.1	750	0.1	864	0.1	791	0.1	477	0.0	314	0.0	200	0.0
North Jeolla	7,975	0.7	896	0.1	299	0.0	542	0.0	1,464	0.1	409	0.0	377	0.0	199	0.0	135	0.0
South Jeolla	8,322	0.7	1,917	0.2	296	0.0	672	0.1	2,246	0.2	507	0.0	473	0.0	304	0.0	179	0.0
North Gyeongsang	18,028	1.0	1,763	0.1	2,431	0.1	964	0.1	1,046	0.1	1,607	0.1	535	0.0	550	0.0	356	0.0
South Gyeongsang	28,645	1.3	3,892	0.2	2,044	0.1	1,180	0.1	1,473	0.1	1,379	0.1	749	0.0	491	0.0	424	0.0
Jeju	3,539	0.9	571	0.1	271	0.1	267	0.1	310	0.1	228	0.1	146	0.0	101	0.0	63	0.0
Total	281.481	0.8	37,366	0.1	25,972	0.1	18,105	0.1	17,305	0.1	11,708	0.0	9,176	0.0	8,317	0.0	4,970	0.0
Source: National Election Commission

In March 2022, Yoon Suk-yeol, the candidate of the conservative opposition People Power Party, won a close election over Democratic Party candidate Lee Jae-myung by the narrowest margin ever. On 10 May 2022, Yoon was sworn in as South Korea's new president.^[5]

Legislative election

Main article: 2020 South Korean legislative election

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

Administrative divisions

Main article: Administrative divisions of South Korea

See also: Provinces of Korea, Special cities of South Korea, and Special cities of South Korea

One Special City (Teukbyeolsi, Capital City), six Metropolitan Cities (Gwangyeoksi, singular and plural), nine Provinces (Do, singular and plural) and one Special Autonomous City (Sejong City).

• Seoul Teukbyeolsi (서울특별시)
• Busan Gwangyeoksi (부산광역시)
• Daegu Gwangyeoksi (대구광역시)
• Incheon Gwangyeoksi (인천광역시)
• Daejeon Gwangyeoksi (대전광역시)
• Gwangju Gwangyeoksi (광주광역시)
• Ulsan Gwangyeoksi (울산광역시)
• Gyeonggi-do (경기도)
• Gangwon-do (강원도)
• Chungcheongbuk-do (충청북도)
• Chungcheongnam-do (충청남도)
• Jeollabuk-do (전라북도)
• Jeollanam-do (전라남도)
• Gyeongsangbuk-do (경상북도)
• Gyeongsangnam-do (경상남도)
• Jeju Teukbyeoljachi-do (제주특별자치도)
• Sejong Teukbyeol-jachisi (세종특별자치시)

Foreign relations

Further information: Foreign relations of South Korea and Indo-Pacific Strategy of South Korea

South Korea is a member of the

• African Development Bank
• Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation
• Asian Development Bank
• Bank for International Settlements
• Colombo Plan
• European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
• United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
• Food and Agriculture Organization
• Group of 77
• International Atomic Energy Agency
• International Bank for Reconstruction and Development
• International Civil Aviation Organization
• International Criminal Court
• International Chamber of Commerce
• International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement
• International Development Association
• International Energy Agency (observer)
• International Fund for Agricultural Development
• International Finance Corporation
• International Hydrographic Organization
• International Labour Organization
• International Monetary Fund
• International Maritime Organization
• International Mobile Satellite Organization
• Intelsat
• Interpol
• International Olympic Committee
• International Organization for Migration
• International Organization for Standardization
• International Telecommunication Union
• International Trade Union Confederation
• United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara
• Non-Aligned Movement (guest)
• Nuclear Suppliers Group
• Organization of American States (observer)
• OECD
• Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons
• Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (partner)
• United Nations
• United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
• UNESCO
• United Nations Industrial Development Organization
• UN mediation of the Kashmir dispute
• United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia
• United Nations University
• Universal Postal Union
• World Customs Organization
• World Health Organization
• World Intellectual Property Organization
• World Meteorological Organization
• World Tourism Organization
• World Trade Organization
• Zangger Committee

See also

• Conservatism in South Korea
• Liberalism in South Korea
• Progressivism in South Korea
• Political scandals in South Korea
• Law of South Korea
• Government of South Korea

Notes

References

1. "Democracy Index 2022: Frontline democracy and the battle for Ukraine" (PDF). Economist Intelligence Unit. 2023. Retrieved 2023-02-09.
2. V-Dem Institute (2023). "The V-Dem Dataset". from the original on 8 December 2022. Retrieved 14 October 2023.
3. "Korea, South". The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. from the original on 29 January 2021. Retrieved 30 May 2017.
4. "Yoon Suk-yeol sworn in as South Korea's new president". The Korea Times. 10 May 2022. from the original on 23 September 2022. Retrieved 23 September 2022.
5. "Who is South Korea's new president Yoon Suk-yeol?". France 24. 10 May 2022. from the original on 23 September 2022. Retrieved 23 September 2022.

External links

 

Wikiquote has quotations related to Politics of South Korea.

• South Korea at The World Factbook
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