Politics of South Korea


The politics of the Republic of Korea takes in place in the framework of a presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the President is the head of state, and of a multi-party system. 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. 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 1987.
The Economist Intelligence Unit rated South Korea with a score of 8/10, making it the 23rd most democratic country in 2019

National government

Executive branch

Legislative branch

The National Assembly 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

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

Political parties and elections

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 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 and the conservative United Future Party, formerly the Liberty Korea Party. The liberal camp and the conservative camp are the dominant forces of South Korean politics at present.

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 greater emphasis around the 'politics of the person' and rather than 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.

Latest elections

Political pressure groups and leaders

One Special City, six Metropolitan Cities, nine Provinces and one Special Autonomous City.
, APEC, AsDB, BIS, CP, EBRD, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, ITUC, MINURSO, NAM, NSG, OAS, OECD, OPCW, OSCE, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMOGIP, UNOMIG, UNU, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, Zangger Committee