The Government of Korea, South

Country name: conventional long form: Republic of Korea conventional short form: South Korea local long form: Taehan-min'guk local short form: Han'guk abbreviation: ROK

Capital: name: Seoul geographic coordinates: 37 33 N, 126 59 E time difference: UTC+9 (14 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

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

Constitution: 17 July 1948; note - amended or rewritten nine times; current constitution approved on 29 October 1987

Legal system: combines elements of continental European civil law systems, Anglo-American law, and Chinese classical thought; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Executive branch: chief of state: President LEE Myung-bak (since 25 February 2008) head of government: Prime Minister HAN Seung-soo (since 29 February 2008) 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 2007 (next to be held in December 2012); prime minister appointed by president with consent of National Assembly election results: LEE Myung-bak elected president on 19 December 2007; percent of vote - LEE Myung-bak (GNP) 48.7%; CHUNG Dong-young (UNDP) 26.1%); LEE Hoi-chang (independent) 15.1; others 10.1%

Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly or Kukhoe (299 seats; 243 members elected in single-seat constituencies, 56 elected by proportional representation; to serve four-year terms) elections: last held 9 April 2008 (next to be held in April 2012) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - GNP 172, UDP 83, LFP 20, Pro-Park Alliance 8, DLP 5, CKP 1, independents 9

Judicial branch: Supreme Court (justices appointed by the president with consent of National Assembly); Constitutional Court (justices appointed by the president based partly on nominations by National Assembly and Chief Justice of the court)

Political parties and leaders: Democratic Party or DP [CHUNG Sye-kyun] (formerly the United Democratic Party or UDP); Democratic Labor Party or DLP [KANG Ki-kabi]; Grand National Party or GNP [KANG Jae-sup]; Liberty Forward Party or LFP [LEE Hoi-chang]; Pro-Park Alliance or PPA [SUH Choung-won]; Renewal Korea Party or RKP [MOON Kook-hyun]

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: ADB, AfDB (nonregional member), APEC, APT, ARF, ASEAN (dialogue partner), Australia Group, BIS, CP, EAS, EBRD, FAO, G-20, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAIA, MIGA, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE (partner), PCA, PIF (partner), SAARC (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNMOGIP, UNOMIG, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC

Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador HAN Duck-soo chancery: 2450 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 939-5600 FAX: [1] (202) 387-0205 consulate(s) general: Agana (Guam), Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Honolulu, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Seattle

Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Kathleen STEPHENS embassy: 32 Sejongno, Jongno-gu, Seoul 110-710 mailing address: US Embassy Seoul, 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

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The Government of Korea, South

The Government of Korea, South

Korean Government