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The
Republic of Korea has a democratic form of government based on the separation of
powers and a system of checks and balances. The Constitution was first
adopted in 1948 when the Republic was established, and has been revised nine
times as the country struggled to make democracy work effectively. It
guarantees the basic rights and freedoms of the people, including, but not
limited to, equality before the law, freedom from arbitrary arrest, freedom of
residence, the right to vote and hold public office, the right to privacy and
freedom of religion, speech, the press and assembly, as well as the right to a
clean environment and to seek happiness.
It also provides for various
economic rights, such as the right to own property, the right - as well as the
duty - to work, the freedom of choice of occupation and the right to collective
bargaining to obtain optimum wages and fair compensation.
The
most recent revision of the constitution provided, among other things, for the
direct election of the President for a single five-year term and for the
institution of a system of Local Autonomy for the first time in 30 years.
These two provisions are key to the strengthening of democratic institutions in
the Republic. The revision also reinstated the right of the National
Assembly to inspect all aspects of state affairs on a regular basis, as a check
on the power of the executive. Finally, it charges the Government to seek
to reunify the nation.
The
Government consists of three branches: the legislature, in the form of a
unicameral National Assembly; the judiciary, consisting of district and
appellate courts and the Supreme Court; and the executive, headed by the
President who is the head of state and commander-in-chief of the Armed
Forces. The President is assisted by the Prime Minister and the State
Council.
time
difference: UTC+9
(14 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard
Time)
Administrative
divisions:
9
provinces (do, singular and plural) and 7
metropolitan cities (gwangyoksi, singular and
plural)
provinces:
Cheju-do,
Cholla-bukto (North Cholla), Cholla-namdo (South
Cholla), Ch'ungch'ong-bukto (North Ch'ungch'ong),
Ch'ungch'ong-namdo (South Ch'ungch'ong), Kangwon-do,
Kyonggi-do, Kyongsang-bukto (North Kyongsang),
Kyongsang-namdo (South Kyongsang)
17
July 1948; note - amended or rewritten many times;
current constitution approved on 29 October 1987
Legal
system:
combines
elements of continental European civil law
systems, Anglo-American law, and Chinese classical
thought; has not accepted compulsory ICJ
jurisdiction
Suffrage:
19
years of age; universal
Executive
branch:
chief
of state: President
LEE Myung-bak (since 25 February 2008)
head
of government: Prime
Minister KIM Hwang-sik (since 1 October 2010)
cabinet:
State
Council appointed by the president on the prime
minister's recommendation
elections:
president
elected by popular vote for a single five-year
term; election last held on 19 December 2007 (next
to be held in December 2012); prime minister
appointed by president with consent of National
Assembly
election
results: LEE
Myung-bak elected president on 19 December 2007;
percent of vote - LEE Myung-bak (GNP) 48.7%; CHUNG
Dong-young (UNDP) 26.1%); LEE Hoi-chang
(independent) 15.1; others 10.1%
Legislative
branch:
unicameral
National Assembly or Kukhoe (299 seats; 245
members elected in single-seat constituencies, 54
elected by proportional representation; members
serve four-year terms)
elections:
last
held on 9 April 2008 (next to be held in April
2012)
election
results: percent
of vote by party - NA; seats by party - GNP 172,
UDP 83, LFP 20, PPA 8, DLP 5, RKP 1, independents
9
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