m Type: Republic with powers shared between the

president, the legislature, and the courts.

m Liberation: August 15, 1945.

m Branches: d

©© resident (chief of state);

rime Minister (head of government). 


©©
unicameral National Assembly.  
©©
upreme
Court and appellate courts; Constitutional Court.
m irand National arty (iN )
m Democratic arty (D ), formerly known as United
Democratic arty (UD )
m Liberal Forward arty (LF )
m Democratic Labour arty (DL )
m Creative Korea arty (CK )
m New rogressive arty (N ).
m The Republic of Korea (commonly known as
"
outh Korea") is a republic with powers nominally
shared among the presidency, the legislature, and
the judiciary, but traditionally dominated by the
president. The president is chief of state and is
elected for a single term of 5 years. The 299
members of the unicameral National Assembly are
elected to 4©year terms; elections for the assembly
were held on April .
m
outh Korea's judicial system comprises a
upreme
Court, appellate courts, and a Constitutional Court.
The judiciary is independent under the constitution.
The country has nine provinces and seven
administratively separate cities©©the capital of
eoul,
along with Busan, Daegu, Daejeon, iwangju, Incheon
and Ulsan. olitical parties include the irand National
arty (iN ), Democratic arty (D ), Liberal Forward
arty (LF ), Creative Korea arty (CK ), Democratic
Labor arty (DL ) and New rogressive arty (N ).

uffrage is universal at age 19 (lowered from 20 in
2005).
m Àr i t©© ©

m Àri  i i tr©© S 
©
 In recent years, Korea's economy moved away from the centrally planned,

government©directed investment model toward a more market©oriented one. Korea

bounced back from the 1997©98 Asian financial crisis with some International

Monetary Fund (IMF) assistance, but based largely on extensive financial reforms

that restored stability to markets. These economic reforms, pushed by resident Kim

Dae©jung, helped Korea return to growth, with growth rates of 10% in 1999 and 9% in

2000. The slowing global economy and falling exports slowed growth to 3.3% in

2001, prompting consumer stimulus measures that led to 7.0% growth in 2002.

Consumer over©shopping and rising household debt, along with external factors,

slowed growth to near 3% again in 2003. Economic performance in 2004 improved to

4.6% due to an increase in exports, and remained at or above 4% in 2005, 2006, and

2007. With the onset of the global financial and economic crisis in the third quarter of

2008, annual growth slowed to 2.2%.

m In August 1991,
outh Korea joined the United
Nations along with North Korea and is active in most
UN specialized agencies and many international
forums. The Republic of Korea also hosted major
international events such as the 1988
ummer
Olympics, the 2002 World Cup
occer Tournament
(co©hosted with Japan), and the 2002
econd
Ministerial Conference of the Community of
Democracies.
outh Korea will also chair the 2010 i©
20 meeting.
m The Republic of Korea maintains diplomatic
relations with more than 170 countries and a
broad network of trading relationships. The United

tates and Korea are allied by the 1953 Mutual
Defense Treaty. Korea and Japan coordinate
closely on numerous issues. This includes
consultations with the United
tates on North
Korea policy.
m The leaders of Japan and
outh Korea signed
an investment agreement at a summit meeting
here today that both see as the prelude to talks
on establishing a free trade zone in Northeast
Asia.
m The
outh Korean iovernment¶s policies are
aimed at attracting foreign investments and
promoting private investment. The iovernment
has identified nanotechnology, semiconductors,
and robotics amongst the key technologies of the
future. The trade©related policies are expected to
open up new markets for the industry. Local
governments¶ provision of incentives to invite
investments has resulted in the formation of
industrial clusters and free economic zones.
m The
outh Korean iovernment plans to develop its next©
generation energy capacity in order to reduce external
dependency and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The

outh Korean iovernment issued long©term power
development plan (L D ), to provide structure and
directions for meeting the growing power demand during
forecast period. This includes deploying new generation
facilities as well as expansion of existing transmission and
distribution networks. This research service offers an incisive
overview of oil, gas, coal, power, nuclear and renewable
energy sectors with focus on political and policy trends and
growth opportunities.