Korea, South Government

What is the capital of Korea, South?

Country Name	South Korea
Full Country Name	Republic of Korea
Abbreviation	ROK
Local - Long	Taehan-min'guk
Local - Short	Han'guk
Etymology- history of name	derived from the Chinese name for Goryeo, which was the Korean dynasty that united the peninsula in the 10th century A.D.; the South Korean name "Han'guk" derives from the long form, "Taehan-min'guk," which is itself a derivation from "Daehan-je'guk," which means "the Great Empire of the Han"; "Han" refers to the "Sam'han" or the "Three Han Kingdoms" (Goguryeo, Baekje, and Silla from the Three Kingdoms Era, 1st-7th centuries A.D.)
Government Type	presidential republic
Capital Name	Seoul; note - Sejong, located some 120 km (75 mi) south of Seoul, serves as an administrative capital for segments of the South Korean Government
Capital - geographic coordinate	37 33 N, 126 59 E
Capital Time Difference	UTC+9 (14 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
Independence	15 August 1945 (from Japan)
National Holiday	Liberation Day, 15 August (1945)
Constitution	history: several previous; latest passed by National Assembly 12 October 1987, approved in referendum 28 October 1987, effective 25 February 1988 amendments: proposed by the president or by majority support of the National Assembly membership; passage requires at least two-thirds majority vote by the Assembly membership, approval in a referendum by more than one half of the votes by more than one half of eligible voters, and promulgation by the president; amended several times, last in 1987

Korea, South Capital City Map

Source: Google Maps

Korea, South Government and Politics

Who is the president of Korea, South?

Executive Branch:	chief of state: President YOON Suk Yeol (since 10 May 2022); the president is both chief of state and head of government; Prime Minister HAN Duck-soo (since 21 May 2022) serves as the principal executive assistant to the president, similar to the role of a vice president head of government: President YOON Suk Yeol (since 10 May 2022) cabinet: State Council appointed by the president on the prime minister's recommendation elections/appointments: president directly elected by simple majority popular vote for a single 5-year term; election last held on 9 March 2022 (next to be held in March 2027); prime minister appointed by president with consent of the National Assembly election results: 2022: YOON Suk-yeol elected president; YOON Suk-yeol (PPP) 48.6%, LEE Jae-myung (DP) 47.8%; other 3.6% 2017: MOON Jae-in elected president; MOON Jae-in (DP) 41.1%, HONG Joon-pyo (Liberty Korea Party) 24%, AHN Cheol-soo (PP) 21.4%, YOO Seung-min (Bareun Party) 6.8%, SIM Sang-jung (Justice Party) 6.2%
Citizenship Criteria:	citizenship by birth: no citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a citizen of South Korea dual citizenship recognized: no residency requirement for naturalization: 5 years
Legal System:	mixed legal system combining European civil law, Anglo-American law, and Chinese classical thought
Suffrage:	18 years of age; universal; note - the voting age was lowered from 19 to 18 beginning with the 2020 national election
Legislative Branch:	description: unicameral National Assembly or Gukhoe (300 seats statutory, current 295; 253 members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote and 47 directly elected in a single national constituency by proportional representation vote; members serve 4-year terms) elections: last held on 15 April 2020 (next to be held on 10 April 2024) election results: percent of vote by party/coalition - DPK/Platform Party 49.9%, United Future Party 41.5%, JP 1.7%; seats by party - DPK/Platform Party 180, United Future Party (now PPP) 103, JP 6, ODP 3, PP 3, independent 5; composition as of April 2022 - men 242, women 57, percent of women 19.1%
Judicial Branch:	highest court(s): Supreme Court (consists of a chief justice and 13 justices); Constitutional Court (consists of a court head and 8 justices) judge selection and term of office: Supreme Court chief justice appointed by the president with the consent of the National Assembly; other justices appointed by the president upon the recommendation of the chief justice and consent of the National Assembly; position of the chief justice is a 6-year nonrenewable term; other justices serve 6-year renewable terms; Constitutional Court justices appointed - 3 by the president, 3 by the National Assembly, and 3 by the Supreme Court chief justice; court head serves until retirement at age 70, while other justices serve 6-year renewable terms with mandatory retirement at age 65 subordinate courts: High Courts; District Courts; Branch Courts (organized under the District Courts); specialized courts for family and administrative issues
Regions or States:	9 provinces (do, singular and plural), 6 metropolitan cities (gwangyeoksi, singular and plural), 1 special city (teugbyeolsi), and 1 special self-governing city (teukbyeoljachisi) provinces: Chungcheongbuk-do (North Chungcheong), Chungcheongnam-do (South Chungcheong), Gangwon-do, Gyeongsangbuk-do (North Gyeongsang), Gyeonggi-do, Gyeongsangnam-do (South Gyeongsang), Jeju-do (Jeju), Jeollabuk-do (North Jeolla), Jeollanam-do (South Jeolla) metropolitan cities: Busan (Pusan), Daegu (Taegu), Daejeon (Taejon), Gwangju (Kwangju), Incheon (Inch'on), Ulsan special city: Seoul special self-governing city: Sejong
Political Parties and Leaders:	Basic Income Party [SHIN Ji-hye] Democratic Party of Korea or DPK [LEE Jae-myung] (renamed from Minjoo Party of Korea or MPK in October 2016); includes the former Open Democratic Party [CHOI Kong-wook], which merged with the DP in January 2022 and the Together Citizens' Party or Platform Party [WOO Hee-jong, CHOI Bae-geun], which merged with the DP in May 2022) Hope of Korea [Yang Hyang-ja] Justice Party or JP [LEE Jeong-mi] People Power Party or PPP [HAN Dong-hoon] (renamed from United Future Party in September 2020, formerly Liberty Korea Party) Transition Korea [CHO Jung-hun] note: the DPK is South Korea’s largest party and its main progressive party; the People Power Party (PPP) is a conservative grouping and is South Korea’s second-largest party
International Law Organization Participation:	has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction
International Organization Participation:	ADB, AfDB (nonregional member), APEC, Arctic Council (observer), ARF, ASEAN (dialogue partner), Australia Group, BIS, CABEI, CD, CICA, CP, EAS, EBRD, FAO, FATF, G-20, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), LAIA (observer), MIGA, MINURSO, MINUSTAH, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE (partner), Pacific Alliance (observer), Paris Club (associate), PCA, PIF (partner), SAARC (observer), SICA (observer), UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNHRC, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNISFA, UNMIL, UNMISS, UNMOGIP, UNOCI, UNOOSA, UNWTO, UPU, Wassenaar Arrangement, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC
Diplomatic Representation in the US:	chief of mission: Ambassador CHO Hyundong (since 19 April 2023) chancery: 2450 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 939-5600 FAX: [1] (202) 797-0595 email address and website: generalusa@mofa.go.kr https://overseas.mofa.go.kr/us-en/index.do consulate(s) general: Anchorage (AK), Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas (TX), Hagatna (Guam), Honolulu, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Seattle, Washington DC
Diplomatic Representation from US:	chief of mission: Ambassador Philip S. GOLDBERG (since 29 July 2022) embassy: 188 Sejong-daero, Jongno-gu, Seoul mailing address: 9600 Seoul Place, Washington, DC 20521-9600 telephone: [82] (2) 397-4114 FAX: [82] (2) 397-4101 email address and website: seoulinfoACS@state.gov https://kr.usembassy.gov/ consulate(s): Busan

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