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| HOME > Visiting Korea > Korea in Brief > Government |
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The Republic of Korea government was established on August 15, 1948, three years after Korea was liberated from dbo168847587.the Japanese colonial rule which lasted 35 years. Between 1945 and 1948, the U.S. occupation force operated a military government south of the 38th parallel, managing general elections to form the Republic's first government under the supervision of the United Nations.
The Korean government, except for a brief period between August 1960 and July 1961 when a parliamentary system was in place, has maintained a presidential system, wherein the President is the head of state and chief executive. Under the present system, government power is shared by three branches: the legislative, judicial, and executive. In additions, two other constitutionally based institutions, the constitutional Court and the National Election Commission, also perform governing functions.
The legislature consists of a single-house National Assembly, whose 299 members serve four-year terms. Besides deliberating bills for legislation, examining government budget, and ratifying international treaties, the National Assembly is also empowered to inspect and audit the administration, and to approve the appointments of the Prime Minister and the Director of the Board of Audit and Inspection. The National Assembly can impeach public officials, and may recommend the President the removal of executive officials, including the Prime Minister.
The judiciary consists of three tiers of courts: The Supreme Court; appellate courts; and district courts. Currently, the judiciary is exclusively a central government function; no provincial or local government may establish its own court or prosecution system although lower courts and prosecutors' offices are located in provincial cities. The Supreme Court consists of 13 Justices and a Chief Justice. Appellate courts are established at fie large cities. Besides the three-tier court system, the judiciary also operates a family courts, and administrative court and a patent court.
The executive branch, headed by the President, consists of the Prime Minister, the State Council, 18 executive ministries, 17 independent agencies, the Board of Audit and Inspection, and the National Intelligence Service. The President, elected by popular vote for a single five-year term, has administrative power needed or operating the executive branch and leading the country. The Prime Minister, appointed by the President with the approval of the National Assembly, supervises the ministries and independent agencies.
Inter-governmental relations between the central and local government have been regarded as hierarchical. (Here "local governments" refers broadly to all subnational governments.) However, local autonomy has been given to the 16 higher-level (provincial) governments and 251 lower level (municipal) governments. This autonomy resumed after 30 years of absence on July 1, 1995 - a date marking a return to direct, popular elections for local chief executives. Prior to this, local government s had been simply local branches of the central governments, with the latter appointing and dispatching chiefs. Despite the change, the autonomous power of local governments at this point remains limited. Virtually all major policies, including those specifying local government functions, taxation, resident welfare and services, and manpower management, are determined by the central government.
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