“On July 17, 1948, the first Constitution of the Republic of Korea was adopted. As the nation endured political upheaval in the pursuit of democratic development, the Korean Constitution has been amended nine times, the last time on October 29, 1987.
“The current Constitution represents a major advancement in the direction of full democratization. Apart from a legitimate process of revision, a number of substantive changes are notable. They include the curtailment of presidential powers, the strengthening of the power of the legislature and additional devices for the protection of human rights. In particular, the creation of a new, independent Constitutional Court played a vital role in making Korea a more democratic and free society.
“The Constitution consists of a preamble, 130 articles, and six supplementary rules. It is divided into 10 chapters: General Provisions, Rights and Duties of Citizens, the National Assembly, the Executive, the Courts, the Constitutional Court, Election Management, Local Authorities, the Economy, and Amendments to the Constitution.
“The basic principles of the Korean Constitution include the sovereignty of the people, separation of powers, the pursuit of peaceful and democratic unification of South and North Korea, the pursuit of international peace and cooperation, the rule of law and the responsibility of the state to promote welfare.
“Constitutional amendment requires special procedures different from other legislation. Either the President or a majority of the National Assembly may submit a proposal for constitutional amendment. An amendment needs the concurrence not only of the National Assembly but also of a national referendum. The former requires the support of two-thirds or more of the National Assembly members, while the latter requires more than one half of all votes cast by more than one half of eligible voters in a national referendum.”
Source: Government: Constitution. Office for Government Policy Coordination, Prime Minister’s Secretariat, Sejong-Si, Korea. Last accessed March 29, 2025.
“The President
“The President of the Republic of Korea, elected by nationwide, equal, direct and secret ballot, stands at the apex of the executive branch. The President serves a single five-year term, with no additional terms being allowed.
“This single-term provision is a safeguard for preventing any individual from holding the reins of government power for a protracted period of time. In the event of presidential disability or death, the Prime Minister or members of the State Council will temporarily serve as the President as determined by law.”
Source: Government: Executive Branch. Office for Government Policy Coordination, Prime Minister’s Secretariat, Sejong-Si, Korea. Last accessed March 29, 2025.
“The Republic of Korea is a constitutional democracy. Its constitution also determines the structure of the government. Its government is divided into three branches: executive, judicial, and legislative. The country has had a presidential system with an independent chief executive since its first election in 1948.
“It was not until mid-1990s that decentralization began in earnest. Although elections for mayors and governors were held for the first time in 1960, this attempt at decentralization was short-lived because of the military coup in 1961,and it was not attempted again under the series of military governments from the 1960s through to the 1980s. Instead, the mayors and governors of local governments were appointed by the President during the authoritarian regime. After a prolonged political debate, decentralization was revived in 1991, though only partially in a sense that the system of appointing mayors and governors remained. It was only after a civilian government was launched that formal decentralization was achieved in 1995 through a historic election that was carried out to elect the heads of local executive governments and the members of local legislative bodies.”
Source: World Health Organization. Regional Office for the Western Pacific. (2015). Republic of Korea health system review. Manila: WHO Regional Office for the Western Pacific.
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Page last updated August 7, 2025 by Doug McVay, Editor.