Korea

12
Country starter pack
Introduction to Korea
KOREA REAL GDP GROWTH %
10
8
6
4
2
0
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
Source: IMF World Economic Outlook Databases
rankings of universities, or to have large numbers of
graduates continuing their studies in prestigious American
Ivy League universities. The universities actively pursue
exchange programs with foreign universities, ensuring
knowledge transfer. Schools are steeped in the culture of
ambition too and competition; the school you went to can
be a determinant of success or failure. For many Korean
parents, the education of their children outweighs all other
considerations, and tremendous sacrifices are made to
get them the best education possible. In combination, the
culturally ambitious mindset of Koreans and their singleminded
focus on education have been vital factors in the
country’s outstanding economic success.
Politics and government
Since its establishment in 1948, Korea has maintained a
presidential system of government, except for a brief period
between June 1960 and May 1961 when a parliamentary
system was in place. Under the presidential system, power
is shared by three branches: the executive (headed by
the President), the legislature (a single-house National
Assembly), and the judiciary. Legislative power is vested
in the unicameral National Assembly, comprising 300
members elected for four year terms. This assembly includes
246 members elected by popular vote, with the remaining
54 seats distributed proportionately among political
parties according to a second, preferential ballot. A regular
legislative session, limited to 100 days, is convened once
a year. Extraordinary sessions, limited to 30 days, may be
convened at the request of the President or at least 25 per
cent of assembly members. Several extraordinary sessions
are usually held each year. National Assembly elections take
place every four years, with the most recent held on 11 April
2012.
The President holds supreme power over all executive
functions of government, within the constraints of the
Constitution. The President appoints public officials,
including the Prime Minister (with the approval of the
National Assembly), ministers (who do not need to be
members of the National Assembly), and the heads of other
executive agencies. The President is also commander-inchief
of the armed forces. The President is limited to serving
a single five year term. The current President, H.E. Ms Park
Geun-hye, was inaugurated on 25 February 2013. She is
Korea’s first woman president and the first woman head of
state in the modern history of Northeast Asia.
Economy
Korea is the world’s 13th largest economy with a GDP of
US$1.416 trillion in 2014. Advanced manufacturing and
services dominate the economy, employing the majority of
the population. Among its main manufactures are mobile
phones, consumer electronics, household whitegoods, cars,
ships and steel, all of which are exported around the globe.
As an advanced manufacturing economy, Korea imports
large quantities of natural resources such as coal, iron ore
and oil. It is also a net importer of agricultural products.
Korea’s phenomenal economic progress in the last halfcentury
has in many ways mirrored the Japanese “economic
miracle” that preceded it. When the Japanese occupation
of Korea ended in 1945, Korea was impoverished and its
economy was mostly agricultural. Much of its infrastructure
was subsequently destroyed during the Korean War, which
also had an enormous human cost. By 1960, Korea’s per
capita GDP was comparable with some of the poorer
countries of Asia and Africa. Since then, however, the
economy has been transformed, becoming a global industrial
powerhouse on the back of what is often referred to as “the
miracle on the Han”, a reference to the Han River that flows
through Seoul.