South Korea follows a republican form of government in which the President is the Chief of the State and the Prime Minister is the Head of Government. The powers of the government are divided into three parts so that there is proper distribution of responsibilities and duties. These duties are thus shared between the Executive, Legislative and the Judiciary. Like other democracies, the citizens of the nature vote for their leaders and a proper hierarchical structure is followed both on state and central level. Let’s look at this political hierarchy of South Korea in detail.
The Executive
The executive branch of the political system in South Korea is the most important branch, one which the major duties and responsibilities. This branch is headed by the president, followed closely by the prime minister and then the cabinet. The following is a detailed hierarchy of the executive of South Korea.
- The President-head of state
- The Prime Minister-head of government, appointed by the President
- The Cabinet-headed by the Prime Minister
- The Deputy Prime Minister-appointed by the President
- The State Council-appointed by the President on advice of the Prime Minister and comes within the Cabinet
The Legislature
The legislative branch of the government is the second leg which is responsible for making rules, laws and regulations. This branch consists of the unicarmel national assembly and the members of this assembly are selected for a four year term. There are a total of 299 members in this assembly out of which 243 members belong to a single seat constituency and 56 of them are elected by proportional representation.
Judiciary
The Judiciary in the nation of South Korea is not dependent on the other two legs. Three major courts form the Judiciary and they are the Supreme Court, the Appellate court and the constitutional court. The Supreme Court is the highest law enforcing body in the country and the justices of this court are appointed by the President himself.
- The Supreme court
- The Appellate court
- The Constitutional court
Key Ministers
The following are some of the key and most important ministers in South Korea, each with his/her different set of responsibilities and duties:
- Unification minister
- Defense minister
- Industry, commerce and energy minister
- Planning and budget minister
- Minister of justice
- Construction and transportation minister
- Health and welfare minister
- Labor minister
- Foreign affairs and trade minister
- Information and communications minister
- Government administration and home affairs
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