GOVERNMENT SYSTEM OF SOUTH
KOREA
SOUTH KOREAN
POLITICAL SYSTEM
South Korea has a liberal democratic political system.
The political system is like the one in the United States. The powers of the
government are divided into three parts so that there is proper distribution of
responsibilities and duties. There are separation of powers among three
branches of government: executive, judicial, and legislative.
Two branches operate on the national level; the
executive and legislate branch. While the judicial, operates at both national
and local levels. South Korea also has a constitution, namely the Constitution
of the Republic of Korea.
SOUTH KOREA
POLITICAL HIERARCHY
South Korea follows a republican form of government in
which the President is the Chief of the State and the Prime Minister is the
Head of Government. Like other democracies, the citizens of the nature vote for
their leaders and a proper hierarchical structure is followed both on state and
central level.
President
The executive branch is headed by the President. The
president in South Korea has a five-year term. Under the Constitution in South
Korea, a president cannot be reelected for a second term. The President of the
Republic of Korea (Daetongryeong) is the chairperson of the cabinet, the chief
executive of the government, commander-in-chief of the armed forces, and the
head of state of South Korea. The president in South Korea plays many roles and
duties. The president is given the powers:
as the head of the executive branch of government
as the commander-in-chief of the South Korean military
- to declare war
- to hold referendum regarding issues of national
importance
- to issue executive orders
- to issue medals in honor of service for the nation
- to issue pardons
- to declare a state of emergency suspending all laws or
enacting a state of martial law
- to veto bills (subject to a two thirds majority veto
override by the National Assembly)
Prime Minister
The Prime Minister of the Republic of Korea (Gungmuchongni)
is appointed by the President of South Korea, with the National Assembly's
approval. The officeholder is not required to be a member of the National
Assembly. The Prime Minister is not the head of government but rather serves in
a role similar to that of a vice president.
The Legislature
The National Assembly possess all of the legislative
power. The legislative branch of the government is the second leg which is
responsible for making rules, laws and regulations. This branch consists of the
unicarmel national assembly and the members of this assembly are selected for a
four year term. There are a total of 299
members in this assembly out of which 243 members belong to a single seat
constituency and 56 of them are elected by proportional representation. Other
important matters they oversee are annual budgets, matters related to
foreign-relations, declaration of war and impeachment.
The Executive
The executive branch of the political system in South
Korea is the most important branch, one which the major duties and responsibilities. This branch is headed by the president,
followed closely by the prime minister and then the cabinet. The following is a detailed hierarchy of the
executive of South Korea.
- The President-head of state
- The Prime Minister-head of government, appointed by
the President
- The Cabinet-headed by the Prime Minister
- The Deputy Prime Minister-appointed by the President
- The State Council-appointed by the President on advice of the Prime Minister and comes within the Cabinet
The Judiciary
The Judiciary in the nation of South Korea is not
dependent on the other two legs. Three major courts form the Judiciary and they
are the Supreme Court, the Appellate court and the constitutional court. The Supreme Court is the highest law
enforcing body in the country and the justices of this court are appointed by
the President himself.
- The Supreme court
- The Appellate court
- The Constitutional court
References
