Country Profile - South Korea

1. Historical background An independent kingdom for much of its long history, Korea was occupied by Japan beginning in 1905 following the Russo Japanese !ar" #n 1910, $okyo formally anne%ed the entire &eninsula" Korea regained its independence following Japan's surrender to the (nited )tates in 19*5" After !orld !ar ##, a democratic based go+ernment ,Republic of Korea, R-K. was set up in the southern half of the Korean &eninsula while a communist style go+ernment was installed in the north ,/emocratic &eople's Republic of Korea, /&RK." /uring the Korean !ar ,1950 50., () troops and (1 forces fought alongside R-K soldiers to defend )outh Korea from a /&RK in+asion supported by 2hina and the )o+iet (nion" A 1950 armistice split the peninsula along a demilitari3ed 3one at about the 04th parallel" &ARK 2hung hee took o+er leadership of the country in a 1951 coup" /uring his regime, from 1951 to 1969, )outh Korea achie+ed rapid economic growth, with per capita income rising to roughly 16 times the le+el of 1orth Korea" )outh Korea held its first free presidential election under a re+ised democratic constitution in 1946, with former R-K Army general R-7 $ae woo winning a close race" #n 1990, K#8 9oung sam ,1990 94. became )outh Korea's first ci+ilian president" )outh Korea today is a fully functioning modern democracy" &resident &ARK :eun hye took office in ;ebruary <010 and is )outh Korea's first female leader" )outh Korea holds a non permanent seat ,<010 1*. on the (1 )ecurity 2ouncil and will host the <014 !inter -lympic :ames" )erious tensions with 1orth Korea ha+e punctuated inter Korean relations in recent years, including the 1orth's attacks on a )outh Korean ship and island in <010, nuclear and missile tests in <01< and <010, and its temporary withdrawal of 1orth Korean workers from the inter Korean Kaesong #ndustrial 2omple% in <010" 2. Geographical data )outh Korea occupies the southern portion of the Korean &eninsula, which e%tends some 1,100 km ,540 mi. from the Asian mainland" $his mountainous peninsula is flanked by the 9ellow )ea to the west, and )ea of Japan ,=ast )ea. to the east" #ts southern tip lies on the Korea )trait and the =ast 2hina )ea" 1

)outh Korea can be di+ided into four general regions> an eastern region of high mountain ranges and narrow coastal plains? a western region of broad coastal plains, ri+er basins, and rolling hills? a southwestern region of mountains and +alleys? and a southeastern region dominated by the broad basin of the 1akdong Ri+er" )outh Korea's terrain is mostly mountainous, most of which is not arable" @owlands, located primarily in the west and southeast, make up only 00A of the total land area" About three thousand islands, mostly small and uninhabited, lie off the western and southern coasts of )outh Korea" JeBu do is about 100 kilometres ,about 50 mi. off the southern coast of )outh Korea" #t is the country's largest island and is also the site of )outh Korea's highest point> 7allasan, an e%tinct +olcano, reaches 1,950 meters ,5,094 ft. abo+e sea le+el" )outh Korea tends to ha+e a humid continental climate and a humid subtropical climate, and is affected by the =ast Asian monsoon, with precipitation hea+ier in summer during a short rainy season which begins end of June through the end of July" !inters can be e%tremely cold with the minimum temperature dropping below C<0 D2 ,C* D;. in the inland region of the country" )ummer can be uncomfortably hot and humid, with temperatures e%ceeding 00 D2 ,45 D;. in most parts of the country" )outh Korea has four distinct seasons? spring, summer, autumn and winter" /uring the first <0 years of )outh Korea's growth surge, little effort was made to preser+e the en+ironment" (nchecked industriali3ation and urban de+elopment ha+e resulted in deforestation and the ongoing destruction of wetlands such as the )ongdo $idal ;lat" 7owe+er, there ha+e been recent efforts to balance these problems, including a go+ernment run E4* billion fi+e year green growth proBect that aims to boost energy efficiency and green technology" 3. cono!ic Situation Although the )outh Korean economy is now the third largest in Asia and the 10th in the world, the high le+els of foreign debt held by the country's banks ha+e left them e%posed to the fallout from the global credit crisis" -n the basis of Korea's reco+ery from the global financial crisis, the go+ernment has been continuously making efforts to strengthen the groundwork for long term growth and boost 2

the real economy" '8iracle on the 7angang Ri+er' refers to the miraculous economic growth that has transformed )outh Korea from the ashes of the Korean !ar" $he go+ernment is managing macroeconomic policies in a fle%ible manner so that the economic reco+ery can be maintained" #t is also taking steps to pre+ent the recurrence of a crisis through monitoring of domestic and foreign causes of an%iety, while strengthening its effort to prepare for possible risks from households, businesses, the financial market and the foreign e%change market, so that the economy will not be affected by e%ternal shocks"!ith employment below the pre crisis le+el, the go+ernment has pushed for Bob creation with fiscal proBects and its own employment assistance programs, and by launching a ser+ice sector de+elopment plan, in order to generate long term as well as short term Bobs" $he go+ernment has also stepped up efforts income designed pro+ide secure to to support lower with policies prices, housing, of stabili3e classes

affordable the

+itali3e microcredit loans, and li+elihood +ulnerable groups" $hanks to the go+ernment's successful policies, the Korean economy posted a growth rate of 5"< percent in <010, its highest mark in eight years, and per capita income returned to the ()E<0,000 le+el" /omestic demand has led the growth while pri+ate consumption and facility in+estment" ". Go#ern!ent and ad!inistration (nder its current constitution the state is sometimes referred to as the )i%th Republic of )outh Korea" @ike many democratic states, )outh Korea has a go+ernment di+ided into three branches> e%ecuti+e, Budicial, and legislati+e" $he e%ecuti+e and legislati+e branches operate primarily at the national le+el, although +arious ministries in the e%ecuti+e branch also carry out local functions" @ocal go+ernments are semi autonomous, and contain e%ecuti+e and legislati+e bodies of their own" $he Budicial branch operates at both the national and local le+els" )outh Korea is a constitutional democracy"

$he )outh Korean go+ernment's structure is determined by the 2onstitution of the Republic of Korea" $his document has been re+ised se+eral times since its first promulgation in 19*4 at independence" 7owe+er, it has retained many broad characteristics and with the e%ception of the short li+ed )econd Republic of )outh Korea, the country has always had a presidential system with an independent chief e%ecuti+e" $he first direct election was also held in 19*4" Although )outh Korea e%perienced a series of military dictatorships from the 1950s up until the 1940s, it has since de+eloped into a successful liberal democracy" $oday, the 2#A !orld ;actbook describes )outh Korea's democracy as a Ffully functioning modern democracyF" At the end of !orld !ar ## in 19*5, Korea was di+ided into 1orthern Korea and )outhern Korea under trusteeship of and the )o+iet (nion and the (nited )tates" $he peninsula was di+ided at the 04th parallel in 19*5" #n 19*4, the two 3ones became the independent countries of1orth Korea and )outh Korea" $hree pro+incesG7wanghae, :yeonggi, and :angwonGwere di+ided by the 04th parallel" 8ost of 7wanghae &ro+ince belonged to the 1orthern 3one" $he southern portion became part of :yeonggi &ro+ince in the south" 8ost of :yeonggi &ro+ince belonged to the )outhern 3one" #n 19*5, the northern portion became part of 7wanghae &ro+ince in the north":angwon &ro+ince was di+ided roughly in half, to form modern day :angwon &ro+ince in )outh Korea and Kangwon &ro+ince in 1orth Korea" $he northern pro+ince is e%panded in 19*5 to include some area around the city of !onsan ,-riginally part of )outh 7amgyong &ro+ince. Also in 19*5, the cities of )eoul in the south and &yongyang in the north separated from :yeonggi and )outh &yongan &ro+inces respecti+ely to become )pecial 2ities" Hoth 1orth Korea and )outh Korea upgraded cities to a le+el eIuals to a pro+ince, these cities are sometimes counted along with pro+inces" )ee )pecial cities of 1orth Korea and )pecial cities of )outh Korea" ;inally, the new pro+inces of JeBu &ro+ince ,in the south, in 19*5. and 2hagang &ro+ince ,in the north, 19*9. were formed, from parts of )outh Jeolla and 1orth &yongan respecti+ely" #n 195*, Ryanggang &ro+ince split from )outh 7amgyong" 4

$. %ok is facing national and international proble!s Relations with its northern neighbour remain a maBor concern in )eoul, particularly o+er the 1orth's fragile economy and its nuclear ambitions" )outh Korea generally resisted international calls for sanctions against the 1orth o+er its nuclear programme and pursued a FsunshineF policy of engagement in the late 1990s" $his has in+ol+ed aid including shipments of fertiliser and rice reunions between 1orth and )outh Koreans, tourist proBects and economic cooperation" )outh Korean companies employed thousands of 1orth Korean workers at the Kaesong industrial comple% near the border" $he demilitarised 3one ,/8J. between )outh and 1orth Korea is the world's most hea+ily fortified frontier" Hut the (), which maintains tens of thousands of soldiers in )outh Korea, is pulling its forces away from the front line and plans to hand o+er wartime operational control to the )outh Korean military in April <01<"