Politics of 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.

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.

• 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

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)

South Korea is a member of the AfDB, APEC, AsDB, BIS, CP, EBRD, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IEA (observer), IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, ITUC, MINURSO, NAM (guest), NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE (partner), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMOGIP, UNOMIG, UNU, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, Zangger Committee

Under Lee Myung-bak's presidency, the South Korean intelligence services (NIS) orchestrated campaigns to manipulate public opinion. NIS-led "NGOs" have conducted media campaigns against opponents of the government; denounced the "buses of hope" (which emerged to support a trade union movement in 2011), criticized the proposals for free school meals and free medical care and called for the disbandment of the Democratic Labour Party. In 2012, the NIS conducted a slander campaign against the presidential candidate Moon Jae-in in order to divert voters to the conservative candidate Park Geun-hye. In February 2015, the former head of the NIS was sentenced to three years in prison for his role in these manipulations.[4]

• Conservatism in South Korea
• Liberalism in South Korea
• Progressivism in South Korea

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Politics of South Korea

• South Korea at The World Factbook
• Cheong Wa Dae
• National Assembly