South Korea

Government

GovernmentMain article: The and the of South Korea

Under its current constitution the state is sometimes referred to as the . Like many democratic states, South Korea has a government divided into three branches: , , and . The executive and legislative branches operate primarily at the national level, although various ministries in the executive branch also carry out local functions. Local governments are semi-autonomous, and contain executive and of their own. The judicial branch operates at both the national and local levels. South Korea is a constitutional democracy.

The South Korean government's structure is determined by the . This document has been revised several times since its first promulgation in 1948 at independence. However, it has retained many broad characteristics and with the exception of the short-lived , the country has always had a presidential system with an independent chief executive. The first direct was also held in 1948. Although South Korea experienced a series of military dictatorships from the 1960s up until the 1980s, it has since developed into a successful . Today, the describes South Korea's democracy as a "fully functioning modern democracy". South Korea is ranked 37th on the , with moderate control on corruption.

Due to its development and , political scientists have ranked it among Asia-Pacific's .