South Korea

lowest point:

Sea of Japan 0 m

highest point:

Halla-san 1,950 m

• air pollution in large cities;
• acid rain;
• water pollution from the discharge of sewage and industrial effluents;
• drift net fishing

0-14 years:

21.4% (male 5,488,808; female 4,875,379)

15-64 years:

71% (male 17,404,645; female 16,894,361)

65 years and over:

7.6% (male 1,434,873; female 2,225,934) (2002 est.)

at birth:

1.11 male(s)/female

under 15 years:

1.13 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

1.03 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.65 male(s)/female

total population:

1.01 male(s)/female (2002 est.)

noun:

Korean(s)

adjective:

Korean

conventional long form:

Republic of Korea

conventional short form:

South Korea

local short form:

none

note: the South Koreans generally use the term "Han'guk" to refer to their country

local long form:

Taehan-min'guk

abbreviation:

ROK

• 9 provinces (do, singular and plural) and 7 metropolitan cities* (gwangyoksi, singular and plural);
• Cheju-do, Cholla-bukto, Cholla-namdo, Ch'ungch'ong-bukto, Ch'ungch'ong-namdo, Inch'on-gwangyoksi*, Kangwon-do, Kwangju-gwangyoksi*, Kyonggi-do, Kyongsang-bukto, Kyongsang-namdo, Pusan-gwangyoksi*, Soul-t'ukpyolsi*, Taegu-gwangyoksi*, Taejon-gwangyoksi*, Ulsan-gwangyoksi*

chief of state:

President ROH Muh-hyun (since 25 February 2003)

head of government:

Prime Minister KO Kun (since 27 February 2003); Deputy Prime Minister KIM Chin-p'yo (since 27 February 2003)

cabinet:

State Council appointed by the president on the prime minister's recommendation

elections:

• president elected by popular vote for a single five-year term;
• election last held 19 December 2002 (next to be held NA December 2007);
• prime minister appointed by the president;
• deputy prime ministers appointed by the president on the prime minister's recommendation

election results:

• results of the 19 December 2002 election - ROH Muh-hyun elected president, took office 25 February 2003;
• percent of vote - ROH Muh-hyun (MDP) 48.9%;
• YI Hoe-chang (GNP) 46.6%;
• other 4.5%

• unicameral National Assembly or Kukhoe (273 seats total - 227 elected by direct, popular vote; members serve four-year terms);
• note - beginning in 2004, all members will be directly elected;
• possible redistricting before 2004 may affect the number of seats in the National Assembly

elections:

last held 13 April 2000 (next to be held NA April 2004)

election results:

• percent of vote by party - NA%;
• seats by party - GNP 133, MDP 115, ULD 17, other 8;
• note - the distribution of seats as of January 2002 is: GNP 136, MDP 118, ULD 15, DPP 2, independents 2

• Democratic People's Party or DPP [CHO Sun, chairman];
• Grand National Party or GNP [YI Hoe-chang, president];
• Millennium Democratic Party or MDP [leader NA];
• United Liberal Democrats or ULD [KIM Chong-p'il, honorary chairman, KIM Chong-ho, acting president]

note: on 20 January 2000, the National Congress for New Politics or NCNP was renamed the Millennium Democratic Party or MDP

• 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

chief of mission:

Ambassador YANG Song-chol

chancery:

2450 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

consulate(s) general:

Anchorage, Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Honolulu, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, and Seattle

consulate(s):

Tamuning (Guam)

FAX:

[1] (202) 387-0205

telephone:

[1] (202) 939-5600

chief of mission:

Ambassador Thomas C. HUBBARD

embassy:

82 Sejong-ro, Chongro-ku, Seoul 110-710

mailing address:

American Embassy, Unit 15550, APO AP 96205-0001

telephone:

[82] (2) 397-4114

FAX:

[82] (2) 738-8845

• white with a red (top) and blue yin-yang symbol in the center;
• there is a different black trigram from the ancient I Ching (Book of Changes) in each corner of the white field

lowest 10%:

3%

highest 10%:

25% (1998 est.)

• rice, root crops, barley, vegetables, fruit;
• cattle, pigs, chickens, milk, eggs;
• fish

• electronic products, machinery and equipment, motor vehicles, steel, ships;
• textiles, clothing, footwear;
• fish

general assessment:

excellent domestic and international services

domestic:

NA

international:

• fiber-optic submarine cable to China;
• the Russia-Korea-Japan submarine cable;
• satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (2 Pacific Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean) and 1 Inmarsat (Pacific Ocean region)

total:

3,124 km

standard gauge:

3,124 km 1.435-m gauge (661 km electrified) (2000)

total:

87,534 km

paved:

65,388 km (including 1,996 km of expressways)

unpaved:

22,146 km (1999)

total:

501 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 5,679,171 GRT/9,172,403 DWT

ships by type:

bulk 104, cargo 160, chemical tanker 47, combination bulk 6, container 52, liquefied gas 16, multi-functional large-load carrier 1, passenger 3, petroleum tanker 73, refrigerated cargo 25, roll on/roll off 5, short-sea passenger 1, specialized tanker 3, vehicle carrier 5, includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Australia 1, Bulgaria 1, China 1, Greece 1, Japan 1, Malaysia 1, Norway 1, Panama 1, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1, United Kingdom 1 (2002 est.)