South Korea
Republic of KoreaTaehan-min'guk
republicIndependence 15 August 1945 (from Japan)
South Korea as the 2003 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 123 fields, one of 36 editions from 1990 to 2025.
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Introduction
1 fieldBackground
After World War II, a republic was set up in the southern half of the Korean Peninsula while a Communist-style government was installed in the north. During the Korean War (1950-1953), US and other UN forces intervened to defend South Korea from North Korean attacks supported by the Chinese. An armistice was signed in 1953, splitting the Peninsula along a demilitarized zone at about the 38th parallel. Thereafter, South Korea achieved rapid economic growth with per capita income rising to roughly 20 times the level of North Korea.
South Korea has maintained its commitment to democratize its political processes. In June 2000, a historic first North-South summit took place between the South's President KIM Dae-jung and the North's leader KIM Chong-il.
Geography
Eastern Asia, southern half of the Korean Peninsula bordering the Sea of Japan and the Yellow Sea
18 fieldsLand useshare of 98,480 sq km
Location
Eastern Asia, southern half of the Korean Peninsula bordering the Sea of Japan and the Yellow Sea
Natural hazards
occasional typhoons bring high winds and floods; low-level seismic activity common in southwest
Environment - current issues
- air pollution in large cities;
- acid rain;
- water pollution from the discharge of sewage and industrial effluents;
- drift net fishing
Environment - international agreements
- party to:
- Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
- signed, but not ratified:
- Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol
People
19 fieldsPer 1,000 population(2003 est.)
Male · female
Age structure
- 0-14 years:
- 20.6% (male 5,256,451; female 4,703,853)
- 15-64 years:
- 71.5% (male 17,527,407; female 16,991,229)
- 65 years and over:
- 7.9% (male 1,512,157; female 2,297,940) (2003 est.)
Sex ratio
- at birth:
- 1.1 male(s)/female
- under 15 years:
- 1.12 male(s)/female
- 15-64 years:
- 1.03 male(s)/female
- 65 years and over:
- 0.66 male(s)/female
- total population:
- 1.01 male(s)/female (2003 est.)
Religions
Christian 49%, Buddhist 47%, Confucianist 3%, Shamanist, Chondogyo (Religion of the Heavenly Way), and other 1%
Government
Republic; President NO Mu-hyun (ROH Moo-hyun) (since 25 February 2003); Prime Minister KO Kun (KOH Kun) (since 27 February 2003)
18 fieldsPresidential electionpercent of vote
National Assembly or Kukhoe, 273 seats, elected 13 April 2000one dot, one seat
Country name
- 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
Administrative divisions
- 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*
Legal system
combines elements of continental European civil law systems, Anglo-American law, and Chinese classical thought
Executive branch
- chief of state:
- President NO Mu-hyun (ROH Moo-hyun) (since 25 February 2003)
- head of government:
- Prime Minister KO Kun (KOH Kun) (since 27 February 2003);
- Deputy Prime Ministers KIM Chin-p'yo (KIM Jin-pyo) (since 27 February 2003) and YUN Tok-hong (since 6 March 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 - NO Muh-hyun elected president, took office 25 February 2003;
- percent of vote - NO Muh-hyun (MDP) 48.9%;
- YI Hoe-ch'ang (GNP) 46.6%;
- other 4.5%
Legislative branch
- 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 April 2003 was: GNP 153, MDP 101, ULD 11, DPP 1, PPR 1, independents 5;
- one seat vacant
Judicial branch
Supreme Court (justices are appointed by the president with the consent of the National Assembly)
Political parties and leaders
- Democratic People's Party or DPP [leader NA];
- Grand National Party or GNP [CH'OE Pyong-ryol, chairman];
- Millennium Democratic Party or MDP [CHO Sun-hyong, chairman];
- United Liberal Democrats or ULD [KIM Chong-p'il, president];
- Uri Party [KIM Kun-t'ae, chairman]
Political pressure groups and leaders
- 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
International organization participation
AfDB, APEC, ARF (dialogue partner), AsDB, ASEAN (dialogue partner), Australia Group, BIS, CP, EBRD, ESCAP, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IEA (observer), IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MINURSO, NAM (guest), NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE (partner), PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMISET, UNMOGIP, UNOMIG, UNU, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC
Diplomatic representation in the US
- chief of mission:
- Ambassador HAN Sung-chu (HAN Sung-joo)
- consulate(s):
- New York, Tamuning (Guam)
- consulate(s) general:
- Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Honolulu, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, and Seattle
- FAX:
- [1] (202) 387-0205
- telephone:
- [1] (202) 939-5600
- chancery:
- 2450 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
Diplomatic representation from the US
- chief of mission:
- Ambassador Thomas C. HUBBARD
- embassy:
- 82 Sejong-no, Jongno-gu, Seoul 110-710
- mailing address:
- American Embassy, Unit 15550, APO AP 96205-5550
- telephone:
- [82] (2) 397-4114
- FAX:
- [82] (2) 738-8845
Flag description
- 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
Economy
As one of the Four Tigers of East Asia, South Korea has achieved an incredible record of growth and integration into the high-tech modern world economy.
41 fieldsGDP - composition by sector(2001 est.)
Trading partnersexports left, imports right
Electricity
Economy - overview
As one of the Four Tigers of East Asia, South Korea has achieved an incredible record of growth and integration into the high-tech modern world economy. Three decades ago GDP per capita was comparable with levels in the poorer countries of Africa and Asia. Today its GDP per capita is 18 times North Korea's and equal to the lesser economies of the European Union.
This success through the late 1980s was achieved by a system of close government/business ties, including directed credit, import restrictions, sponsorship of specific industries, and a strong labor effort. The government promoted the import of raw materials and technology at the expense of consumer goods and encouraged savings and investment over consumption.
The Asian financial crisis of 1997-99 exposed longstanding weaknesses in South Korea's development model, including high debt/equity ratios, massive foreign borrowing, and an undisciplined financial sector. Growth plunged to a negative 6.6% in 1998, then strongly recovered to 10.8% in 1999 and 9.2% in 2000.
Growth fell back to 3.3% in 2001 because of the slowing global economy, falling exports, and the perception that much-needed corporate and financial reforms had stalled. Led by consumer spending and exports, growth in 2002 was an impressive 6.2%, despite anemic global growth, followed by moderate 2.8% growth in 2003. In 2003 the six-day work week was reduced to five days.
Industries
electronics, automobile production, chemicals, shipbuilding, steel, textiles, clothing, footwear, food processing
Agriculture - products
- rice, root crops, barley, vegetables, fruit;
- cattle, pigs, chickens, milk, eggs;
- fish
Exports - commodities
- electronic products, machinery and equipment, motor vehicles, steel, ships;
- textiles, clothing, footwear;
- fish
Imports - commodities
machinery, electronics and electronic equipment, oil, steel, transport equipment, textiles, organic chemicals, grains
Exchange rates
South Korean won per US dollar - 1,251.09 (2002), 1,290.99 (2001), 1,130.96 (2000), 1,188.82 (1999), 1,401.44 (1998)
Communications
8 fieldsTelephone system
- 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)
Television broadcast stations
121 (plus 850 repeater stations and the eight-channel American Forces Korea Network) (1999)
Transportation
10 fieldsAirports by runway lengthpaved left, unpaved right
Networkskm
Highways
- total:
- 86,990 km
- paved:
- 64,808 km (including 1,996 km of expressways)
- unpaved:
- 22,182 km (1999 est.)
Merchant marine
- total:
- 541 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 6,490,521 GRT/10,602,751 DWT
note: 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, UK 1 (2002 est.)
- ships by type:
- bulk 114, cargo 174, chemical tanker 63, combination bulk 9, container 52, liquefied gas 17, passenger 3, petroleum tanker 69, refrigerated cargo 21, roll on/roll off 6, short-sea passenger 2, specialized tanker 6, vehicle carrier 5
Military
Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, National Maritime Police (Coast Guard)
7 fieldsTransnational Issues
1 fieldDisputes - international
- Military Demarcation Line within the 4-km wide Demilitarized Zone has separated North from South Korea since 1953;
- Liancourt Rocks (Take-shima/Tok-do) are disputed with Japan
Cite this entry
Central Intelligence Agency. “Korea, South.” The World Factbook 2003. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/south-korea/2003.