Korean Politics

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Korean Politics
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Outline

• Republic of Korea
• presidential system
• National Assembly
• judiciary
• parties and elections
• external relations
• Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea
• authoritarian party-state

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President of ROK

• Directly elected by all voters
• 5-year term (no 2nd term)
• Head of state
• Chief executive
• Commander-in-chief of the armed forces
• power to declare war
• Office and residence Cheong Wa Dae

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Presidential Power

• Appoint Prime Minister, subject to approval by
  the National Assembly
• Propose legislation
• Appoint the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court,
  subject to approval by the National Assembly

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National Assembly

• Unicameral legislature with 300 members, who
  serve four-year terms
• 246 directly elected from districts
• 54 appointed by political parties proportional to
  vote share
• law-making
• approve national budget
• impeach President

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Local Government

• Three levels
• central government
• higher-level local governments
• 8 municipality governments
• 9 do (province) governments
• lower-level local governments
• cities, counties, districts

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Evolution of Party System

• 1950s Liberal Party, Progressive Party, ...
• 1961, Park dissolved all political parties,
  abolished local elections local councils
• 1980, General Chun banned political activities by
  party members
• 1987, presidential election
• 1988, National Assembly election

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Foreign Direct Investment

• The financial crisis of 1997 was a turning point
• Less than 2,000 foreign-invested companies in
  1997
• 14,000 foreign-invested companies in 2010
• US11.5 billion inward FDI in 2009
• US16.3 billion inward FDI in 2012

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(No Transcript)
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D.P.R.K.

• Workers Party of Korea
• General Secretary of the Central Committee
• Kim Jong-Il (1994 - 2011)
• Kim Jong-Un (2011- )
• Politburo
• Cabinet premier and ministers
• National Defense Commission
• Supreme Peoples Assembly

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The Six-Party Talks since 2003