Conventional Long Form Name of Country: Republic of Korea
Capital City: Seoul
Type of Government:presidential republic
Date of Independence: 15 August 1945 (from Japan)
National Holidays: Liberation Day, 15 August (1945)
Chief of State: HWANG Kyo-ahn
Head of Government: Prime Minister HWANG Kyo-ahn
Description of Executive Branch/Powers: State Council appointed by the president on the prime minister's recommendation. president directly elected by simple majority popular vote for a single 5-year term; election last held on 19 December 2012 (next to be held in December 2017); prime minister appointed by president with consent of National Assembly
Description of Legislative Branch/Powers: unicameral National Assembly or Kuk Hoe (300 seats; 246 members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote and 54 directly elected in a single national constituency by proportional representation vote; members serve 4-year terms)
Description of Judicial Branch/Powers: Supreme court of South Korea, High Courts; District Courts; Branch Courts (organized under the District Courts); specialized courts for family and administrative issues. Supreme Court chief justice appointed by the president with the consent of the National Assembly; other justices appointed by the president upon the recommendation of the chief justice and consent of the National Assembly; position of the chief justice is a 6-year non-renewable term;
Suffrage: 19 years of age; universal
Name of THEIR Ambassador to the U.S.: AHN Ho-young (since 7 June 2013)
Location of THEIR embassy in the U.S.: 2450 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
Locations of THEIR consulates in the U.S.:Agana (Guam), Anchorage (AK), Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Honolulu, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Seattle
Name of U.S. Ambassador to THEM: Mark William LIPPERT (since 21 November 2014)
Location of U.S. embassy THERE: 188 Sejong-daero, Jongno-gu, Seoul 110-710
Locations of U.S. consulates THERE: Seoul, South Korea.
Name of THEIR representative to UN: Hahn Choong-hee
Description of the Symbolism of flag: white with a red (top) and blue yin-yang symbol in the center; there is a different black trigram from the ancient I Ching (Book of Changes) in each corner of the white field; the South Korean national flag is called Taegukki; white is a traditional Korean color and represents peace and purity; the blue section represents the negative cosmic forces of the yin, while the red symbolizes the opposite positive forces of the yang; each trigram (kwae) denotes one of the four universal elements, which together express the principle of movement and harmony
National Symbols: taegeuk (yin yang symbol), Hibiscus syriacus (Rose of Sharon); national colors: red, white, blue, black
Descriptions of International Disputes: Military Demarcation Line within the 4-km-wide Demilitarized Zone has separated North from South Korea since 1953; periodic incidents with North Korea in the Yellow Sea over the Northern Limit Line, which South Korea claims as a maritime boundary; South Korea and Japan claim Liancourt Rocks (Tok-do/Take-shima), occupied by South Korea since 1954
Quantity of refugees inside country AND countries of origin of refugees: N/A
Quantity of Internally Displaced Persons: N/A
Quantity of Stateless Persons: 197 (2015)
Description of current human trafficking issues related to this country: N/A
Description of Illicit Drug trafficking/use: N/A
Capital City: Seoul
Type of Government:presidential republic
Date of Independence: 15 August 1945 (from Japan)
National Holidays: Liberation Day, 15 August (1945)
Chief of State: HWANG Kyo-ahn
Head of Government: Prime Minister HWANG Kyo-ahn
Description of Executive Branch/Powers: State Council appointed by the president on the prime minister's recommendation. president directly elected by simple majority popular vote for a single 5-year term; election last held on 19 December 2012 (next to be held in December 2017); prime minister appointed by president with consent of National Assembly
Description of Legislative Branch/Powers: unicameral National Assembly or Kuk Hoe (300 seats; 246 members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote and 54 directly elected in a single national constituency by proportional representation vote; members serve 4-year terms)
Description of Judicial Branch/Powers: Supreme court of South Korea, High Courts; District Courts; Branch Courts (organized under the District Courts); specialized courts for family and administrative issues. Supreme Court chief justice appointed by the president with the consent of the National Assembly; other justices appointed by the president upon the recommendation of the chief justice and consent of the National Assembly; position of the chief justice is a 6-year non-renewable term;
Suffrage: 19 years of age; universal
Name of THEIR Ambassador to the U.S.: AHN Ho-young (since 7 June 2013)
Location of THEIR embassy in the U.S.: 2450 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
Locations of THEIR consulates in the U.S.:Agana (Guam), Anchorage (AK), Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Honolulu, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Seattle
Name of U.S. Ambassador to THEM: Mark William LIPPERT (since 21 November 2014)
Location of U.S. embassy THERE: 188 Sejong-daero, Jongno-gu, Seoul 110-710
Locations of U.S. consulates THERE: Seoul, South Korea.
Name of THEIR representative to UN: Hahn Choong-hee
Description of the Symbolism of flag: white with a red (top) and blue yin-yang symbol in the center; there is a different black trigram from the ancient I Ching (Book of Changes) in each corner of the white field; the South Korean national flag is called Taegukki; white is a traditional Korean color and represents peace and purity; the blue section represents the negative cosmic forces of the yin, while the red symbolizes the opposite positive forces of the yang; each trigram (kwae) denotes one of the four universal elements, which together express the principle of movement and harmony
National Symbols: taegeuk (yin yang symbol), Hibiscus syriacus (Rose of Sharon); national colors: red, white, blue, black
Descriptions of International Disputes: Military Demarcation Line within the 4-km-wide Demilitarized Zone has separated North from South Korea since 1953; periodic incidents with North Korea in the Yellow Sea over the Northern Limit Line, which South Korea claims as a maritime boundary; South Korea and Japan claim Liancourt Rocks (Tok-do/Take-shima), occupied by South Korea since 1954
Quantity of refugees inside country AND countries of origin of refugees: N/A
Quantity of Internally Displaced Persons: N/A
Quantity of Stateless Persons: 197 (2015)
Description of current human trafficking issues related to this country: N/A
Description of Illicit Drug trafficking/use: N/A
Chief of State and Head of Government Hwang Kyo-ahn
South Korea National Anthem