South Korea flag South Korea: Economic and Political Overview

The political framework of South Korea

Political Outline

Current Political Leaders
President YOON Suk Yeol (since 10 May 2022) was impeached and suspended by the National Assembly on 14 December 2024, with Prime Minister HAN Duck-soo serving as Acting President. HAN was also impeached on 27 December 2024, making Deputy Prime Minister CHOI Sang-mok the Acting President. The Constitutional Court has 180 days to decide on YOON's removal.
Next Election Dates
Presidential: March 2027
Current Political Context
Political unrest in South Korea was severe in 2024. In fact, President Yoon Suk Yeol imposed martial law on December 3 after accusing the Democratic Party of "anti-state activities" and working with "North Korean communists" to weaken the country. Press freedom and political activity were halted by this pronouncement. Protesters and security officers clashed as a result of the move's instant opposition. After around six hours, Yoon lifted martial law in response to growing pressure. Citing abuse of power, the National Assembly impeached President Yoon on December 14 by a vote of 204 to 85. After Yoon was suspended, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo took over as interim president.  However, on December 27, the National Assembly also impeached Han, with a unanimous vote of 192-0, due to his association with Yoon's controversial actions. Consequently, Deputy Prime Minister Choi Sang-mok became the acting president. The Constitutional Court now has 180 days to determine whether to uphold or overturn Yoon's impeachment. These events have led to significant political instability in South Korea, with ongoing protests and declining consumer confidence.
The Korean peninsula remains one of the most protracted and volatile zones in the world. The United States and South Korea held combined military exercises in 2024, which North Korea perceived as provocative invasion manoeuvres. North Korea responded by promising the "toughest" response to perceived threats and testing a sea-to-surface strategic cruise missile system in December 2024.
Main Political Parties
The most influential parties in South Korea include:

- People Power Party (PPP, formerly Liberty Korea Party): right-wing, conservative, currently the second-largest party in the National Assembly but leading a minority government
- Democratic (Minjo) Party: centrist-liberal political party, advocating for human rights, improved relations with North Korea, and a "new progressivism" economic policy
- Rebuilding Korea Party (RKP): centre-left, progressive
-
Progressive Party (formerly Minjung): referred to as "far-left" in South Korea because of its anti-American military presence there and North Korean sympathies
- Social Democratic Party (SDP): centre-left
- Justice Party: centre-left; organised around progressivism
- Green Party: champions ecological wisdom, social justice.
Other parties include the Basic Income Party (BIP) and the New Reform Party (NRP).

Executive Power
The President is the chief of state, head of government, and commander-in-chief of the armed forces. He or she is elected by a popular vote for a single five-year term without the possibility of re-election. The President enjoys executive powers and appoints the Prime Minister, subject to parliamentary approval, and the State Council (cabinet), with some key appointments requiring parliamentary consent. The Prime Minister is not required to be a member of parliament and primarily assists the President while supervising ministries.
Legislative Power
The legislature in South Korea is unicameral. The Parliament, called the National Assembly, has 300 seats, with 253 filled through single-member districts and 47 through proportional representation. Each member is elected to serve four-year terms. South Korea follows a presidential system, where the executive branch is independent of the National Assembly, though the Assembly can impeach the President under specific conditions.
 

Indicator of Freedom of the Press

Definition:

The world rankings, published annually, measures violations of press freedom worldwide. It reflects the degree of freedom enjoyed by journalists, the media and digital citizens of each country and the means used by states to respect and uphold this freedom. Finally, a note and a position are assigned to each country. To compile this index, Reporters Without Borders (RWB) prepared a questionnaire incorporating the main criteria (44 in total) to assess the situation of press freedom in a given country. This questionnaire was sent to partner organisations,150 RWB correspondents, journalists, researchers, jurists and human rights activists. It includes every kind of direct attacks against journalists and digital citizens (murders, imprisonment, assault, threats, etc.) or against the media (censorship, confiscation, searches and harassment etc.).

World Rank:
42/180
 

Indicator of Political Freedom

Definition:

The Indicator of Political Freedom provides an annual evaluation of the state of freedom in a country as experienced by individuals. The survey measures freedom according to two broad categories: political rights and civil liberties. The ratings process is based on a checklist of 10 political rights questions (on Electoral Process, Political Pluralism and Participation, Functioning of Government) and 15 civil liberties questions (on Freedom of Expression, Belief, Associational and Organizational Rights, Rule of Law, Personal Autonomy and Individual Rights). Scores are awarded to each of these questions on a scale of 0 to 4, where a score of 0 represents the smallest degree and 4 the greatest degree of rights or liberties present. The total score awarded to the political rights and civil liberties checklist determines the political rights and civil liberties rating. Each rating of 1 through 7, with 1 representing the highest and 7 the lowest level of freedom, corresponds to a range of total scores.

Ranking:
Free
Political Freedom:
2/7

Political freedom in the world (interactive map)
Source: Freedom in the World Report, Freedom House

 

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Latest Update: February 2025