South Korea
Country in East Asia, bounded north by North Korea, east by the Sea
of Japan, south by the Korea Strait, and west by the Yellow Sea.
Government
Under the 1988 constitution, executive power is held by the president,
who is directly elected by popular vote. The president is restricted
to one five-year term of office and governs with a cabinet (state
council) headed by a prime minister. Legislative authority resides
in the single-chamber, 299-deputy national assembly, the Kuk Hoe,
237 of whose members are directly elected for four-year terms
by universal suffrage in single-member constituencies, and the
remainder of whom are appointed in accordance with a formula designed
to reward the largest single assembly party. The assembly has
the authority to impeach the president and to override presidential
vetoes. There is also a nine-member constitutional court, and
guarantees of freedom of speech, press, assembly, and association
are written into the constitution.
History
The Republic of Korea was formed out of the zone south of the 38th
parallel of latitude, the area occupied by US troops after Japan's
surrender in 1945. The US military government controlled the country
until, following national elections, an independent republic was
declared on 15 August 1948.
Dr Sungman Rhee (Yi Sungman), leader of the right-wing Liberal
Party, was the nation's first president in a constitution based
on the US model. To begin with, the republic had to cope with
a massive influx of refugees fleeing the communist regime in North
Korea in addition to problems concerning the repatriation of over
a million forced workers who had been sent to Japan during World
War II.
Foreign Affairs
Notable developments in foreign affairs during the 1990s include the
establishment of full diplomatic relations with the USSR in 1990,
the beginning of diplomatic links with communist China in 1992,
and the development of closer political and economic links with
Japan. In January 1997 South Korea joined the Organization for
Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
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