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South Korea

Country in East Asia, bounded north by North Korea, east by the Sea of Japan, south by the Korea Strait, and west by the Yellow Sea.

Government

Under the 1988 constitution, executive power is held by the president, who is directly elected by popular vote. The president is restricted to one five-year term of office and governs with a cabinet (state council) headed by a prime minister. Legislative authority resides in the single-chamber, 299-deputy national assembly, the Kuk Hoe, 237 of whose members are directly elected for four-year terms by universal suffrage in single-member constituencies, and the remainder of whom are appointed in accordance with a formula designed to reward the largest single assembly party. The assembly has the authority to impeach the president and to override presidential vetoes. There is also a nine-member constitutional court, and guarantees of freedom of speech, press, assembly, and association are written into the constitution.

History For the history of Korea as a whole up to the end of the Korean War in 1953, see Korea: history to 1637 and Korea: history 1637- 1953.

The Republic of Korea was formed out of the zone south of the 38th parallel of latitude, the area occupied by US troops after Japan's surrender in 1945. The US military government controlled the country until, following national elections, an independent republic was declared on 15 August 1948.

Dr Sungman Rhee (Yi Sungman), leader of the right-wing Liberal Party, was the nation's first president in a constitution based on the US model. To begin with, the republic had to cope with a massive influx of refugees fleeing the communist regime in North Korea, in addition to problems concerning the repatriation of over a million forced workers who had been sent to Japan during World War II.

The Korean War

In June 1950 the North launched a massive invasion of South Korea, with the aim of reunifying the country. This began the three-year Korean War (see also Korean history 1637-1953), which, after intervention by US-led United Nations forces (on the side of the South) and by China (on the side of the North), ended in stalemate. The 38th parallel was re-established as the border between North and South by the armistice agreement of July 1953, and a UN-patrolled demilitarized buffer zone was created. South Korea was devastated by the war, and lost 226,000 troops.

Park Chung Hee in power, 1961-79

South Korea's economic recovery was hindered under Syngman Rhee by poor planning and inefficient execution, involving widespread corruption. Syngman Rhee's government was overthrown by popular demonstrations in April 1960, and a Democratic Party prime minister, Chang Myon, came to power. A new parliamentary-style constitution gave greater power to the legislature, and the ensuing political instability precipitated a military coup led by Gen Park Chung Hee in May 1961.

A presidential system of government was re-established, with Park, who had meanwhile retired from the army, elected president in October 1963. Although in theory civilian government had been restored, South Korea remained a very closely controlled one-party state. Park was re-elected in May 1967, and, after amendment of the constitution, again in April 1971.

Opposition to the repressive Park regime mounted during the 1970s. In response, martial law was imposed. In October 1972 Park suspended the South Korean constitution and in November a national referendum approved what was called the Yushin, or ‘Revitalisation’, constitution, which strengthened the president's powers. A clampdown on political dissent, launched in 1975, was partially relaxed for the 1978 elections, but brought protests in 1979 as economic conditions briefly deteriorated. President Park was assassinated later that year, and martial law was reimposed.

Economic development in the 1960s and 1970s

From the beginning of Park's rule in 1961 successive economic plans were more capably worked out than in the 1950s, and implemented with increasing confidence. Capital was provided almost entirely by foreign loans, mainly from the USA and Japan. The resumption of diplomatic relations with Japan in 1964 was a major factor in this recovery.

From 1971 South Korea's industrial growth was one of the fastest in the world, particularly in international trade, with the country becoming a major exporter of light and heavy industrial goods. The Saemaul, or ‘New Communities’ campaign, inaugurated in the spring of 1971, spread the benefits of increasing prosperity into the rural areas.

Continuing tensions with the North

In August 1971 North Korea proposed political discussions with the South, and the Red Cross Societies of the two halves of the country began talks on humanitarian problems arising from the division of Korea. Despite the establishment in 1972 of a North-South coordinating committee to promote peaceful unification, relations with the South remained tense and hostile. Border incidents were frequent, and in October 1983 four South Korean cabinet ministers were assassinated in Rangoon, Burma (now Myanmar), in a bombing incident organized by two North Korean army officers.

The perceived threat of invasion from the North continued to be a key factor in South Korean politics, helping to justify stern rule. The country devoted large resources to modernizing its armed forces, which were supported by more than 35,000 US troops, assuring US intervention in the event of an invasion. Political and economic relations with the USA have remained close - the USA currently provides a market for 40% of South Korea's exports - but anti-US sentiment has always been strong among opposition groups.

Developments after Park's death

Following President Park's assassination in 1979 an interim government, led by former prime minister Choi Kyu-Hah, introduced liberalizing reforms, releasing opposition leader Kim Dae Jung in 1980. However, as antigovernment demonstrations developed, a new dissident clampdown began, involving the arrest of 30 political leaders, including Kim Dae Jung. After a severely suppressed insurrection in Kim's home city of Kwangju, President Choi resigned in 1980 and was replaced by the leader of the army, Gen Chun Doo Hwan. A new constitution was adopted, and, after Chun Doo Hwan was re-elected president in 1981, the new Fifth Republic was proclaimed.

Cautious liberalization in the 1980s

Under President Chun economic growth resumed, but internal and external criticism of the suppression of civil liberties continued. Cautious liberalization was seen prior to the 1985 assembly elections, with the release of many political prisoners and the return from exile of Kim Dae Jung. After the 1985 election the opposition parties launched a campaign for genuine democratization, forcing the Chun regime to frame a new, more liberal constitution, which was adopted after a referendum in October 1987.

The ensuing presidential election was won by the ruling party's candidate, Roh Tae Woo, amid opposition charges of fraud. He took over in February 1988, but in the national assembly elections in April 1988 the ruling Democratic Justice Party (DJP) fell well short of an overall majority. Only in February 1990, when the DJP merged with two minor opposition parties to form the Democratic Liberal Party (DLP), was a stable governing majority secured.

Continuing unrest

In December 1990 the government launched a ‘purification’ campaign designed to improve public morals and reduce materialism. In May 1991 at least 250,000 people demonstrated and six attempted suicide in protests triggered by the beating to death of a student by police. Protests continued, and the police and security services were given emergency powers to deal with student-led unrest.

The country's two-party structure was restored in September 1991 when the opposition New Democratic Party, led by Kim Dae Jung, and the small Democratic Party, led by Lee Ki Taek, merged to form the Democratic Party, headed jointly by the two leaders. The ruling DLP lost its majority, and Roh resigned as leader.

Civilian government restored

In December 1992 Kim Young Sam, candidate of the ruling DLP, won the presidential election, becoming the first president without a military background to be elected since 1960. The new civilian government pursued a strategy of gradual deregulation of South Korea's bureaucratic economy, including some privatizations, and pushed through reforms aimed at curbing political corruption. Despite a temporary slowdown in GDP growth in 1992-93, President Kim remained popular and the number of student protests diminished significantly.

From 1994 the government encouraged greater competition, privatization, and deregulation within the still booming economy, as part of a segyehwa (‘globalization’) initiative. However, in June 1995 the ruling DLP, which had been weakened by a split in its ranks March 1995, polled poorly in the country's first-ever local elections, with the opposition DP performing strongly.

In September 1995 a new centre-left opposition party, the National Congress for New Politics (NCNP), was formed by veteran politician Kim Dae Jung. It immediately attracted more than 50 defectors from the DP, making it the largest opposition party in the national assembly. In December 1995 the ruling DLP had renamed itself the New Korea Party (NKP) with Lee Soo Sung as prime minister. The party lost its majority in elections to the national assembly in April 1996.

Corruption and treason charges

In October 1995 former president Roh Tae Woo was charged with corruption, after having publicly admitted to having amassed 500 billion won (£400 million) in a party slush fund during his term in office and to having retained 170 billion won for personal use. He was arrested, along with former president Chun Doo Hwan, in November 1995, and in January 1996 both men were charged with treason for their alleged role in the massacre of more than 200 antigovernment demonstrators in the military rebellion that brought Chun to power in 1980.

Chun Doo Hwan and Roh Tae Woo were respectively sentenced to death and 23 years imprisonment in August 1996. They were also fined, between them, more than $610 million for receiving bribes from industry while in office. Chun and Roh immediately appealed against the convictions, and in December Chun's sentence was commuted to life imprisonment and Roh's to 17 years' imprisonment.

Economic crisis

In December 1996 and January 1997 there was large-scale industrial unrest across the country, especially in the car- and ship-building industries, and street protests over a new labour law that would end job security guarantees, making it easier for companies to dismiss workers, and empower businesses to alter workers' hours and employ temporary staff. Fears of a major economic crisis were confirmed in January with the collapse of Hanbo, the country's second-largest chaebol (‘conglomerate’) based on steel-making, with debts of $6 million. In late January 1997 President Kim Young Sam, whose popularity rating had fallen to 18%, met opposition leaders and agreed to revise the law. A revised bill was passed in March 1997. Hanbo's collapse, however, revealed widespread corruption which led, within a year, to the imprisonment of the son of President Kim Young San on charges of accepting bribes and tax evasion and to a jail sentence for the former president of the Bank of Seoul.

In February 1997 Kim Woo Suk resigned from the cabinet and, along with two other close political allies of President Kim Young Sam, was arrested after claims that he took bribes to secure loans for Hanbo. President Kim made a televised public apology for the affair and, in March 1997, appointed Koh Kun, a career technocrat with a reputation for high integrity, as the country's sixth prime minister since 1993. However, the scandal, connected with a son of President Kim, severely tarnished the President's reputation and weakened his authority during his last year in power. In March 1997 Lee Hoi Chang, a former prime minister who had been sacked in 1994, was appointed chairman of the ruling New Korea Party. The same month witnessed the collapse of Sammi steel corporation, another of the top thirty chaebol.

Economic crisis continued through 1997. In July, Kia, the country's third biggest car maker and eighth biggest chaebol was reported to be in difficulties. A cabinet reshuffle in August did not change the overall situation. In November the country faced a major currency crisis and submitted an application to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for an emergency loan package of $60 billion (£38 billion). In December veteran opposition leader Kim Dae Jung was elected president at his fourth attempt. One of his first acts was to confirm the release from prison ex-presidents Chun Doo Whan and Roh Tae Woo ordered by outgoing president Kim Young Sam. Meanwhile patriotic Koreans responded to an official appeal by donating gold to be turned into hard currency to support the country's ailing financial structure. By April 1998 the won, which had stood at about 900 to the US$ in April 1997, appeared to be stabilizing at around the 1,400 level.

Although South Korea's economic difficulties occurred in the context of major crises afflicting Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia, its standing as the 11th greatest economy in the world meant that any major Korean collapse posed a greater threat to the stability in the South East Asian region. These political and economic developments were being played out against the background of mounting tensions with North Korea, arising out of the catastrophic famine gripping that country.

Relations with the North

South Korea was admitted to the United Nations along with North Korea in September 1991. Despite concerns over North Korea's nuclear aspirations, the prime ministers of the two Koreas met in Seoul in December 1991 and signed a non-aggression and confidence-building pact, which provided for the restoration of cross-border communications, the reunion of divided families, and the free movement of people, commerce, and ideas. On 31 December 1991 a further pact was signed in Panmunjom in which both states agreed to ban the testing, manufacture, deployment, or possession of nuclear weapons. In response, the USA agreed to withdraw its nuclear weapons from South Korea and to reduce its troop strength, although in 1994, in response to a perceived threat from North Korea, it again stepped up its military presence.

In 1995 South Korea donated two ‘safe’ nuclear reactors to North Korea, in an attempt to persuade the latter to abandon its suspected atomic-weapons programme, and also supplied the North with emergency shipments of rice. In April 1996 a joint US-South Korean proposal was announced for peace talks involving the two Koreas together with the USA and China in an attempt to bring a rapprochement to the peninsula. In August 1996 more than 5,000 students were arrested following their demands for unification with North Korea and the withdrawal of US troops.

US and North and South Korean officials began talks in March 1997 that mediators hoped would lead to peace on the peninsula. Delegations gathered in New York for a briefing by the USA and South Korea on proposals for talks aimed at formally ending the Korean War. It was the first time since 1972 that North and South Koreans had met for peace talks. Talks between North and South continued in Beijing, China, but collapsed in April 1998 over Seoul's insistence that aid for the famine-stricken North be linked to the reuniting of families divided since the 1950-53 Korean war.

South Korea said in June 1999 that it was ‘gravely concerned’ that North Korea had sent its warships into southern territorial waters, allegedly to protect fishing fleet. A tense stand-off in the Yellow Sea exploded later in June when the South Korean navy sank a North Korean torpedo boat and damaged several other vessels. North Korea's accused the South of provoking the incident. In the same month, talks between the North and South Korean governments about the possible reunification of families separated by the 54-year-old split were suspended.

Foreign affairs

Other notable developments in foreign affairs during the 1990s include the establishment of full diplomatic relations with the USSR in 1990, the beginning of diplomatic links with communist China in 1992, and the development of closer political and economic links with Japan. In January 1997 South Korea joined the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

Start of Kim Dae Jung's presidency

In February 1998 Kim Dae Jung was sworn in as president. He pledged his administration's goals as revitalizing the troubled economy, political and economic reform, and reconciliation with the North, starting with an exchange of envoys and a summit meeting. Kim Jong Pil was appointed prime minister; the leader of the conservative United Liberal Democrats (ULD) and a former premier 1971-75, he had agreed in November 1997 not to stand for the presidency in return for this position. However, the Grand National Party (GNP), formed in November 1997 through the merger of the Democratic Party and the New Korea Party, which held 162 of the national assembly's 299 seats, opposed Kim Jong Pil's appointment.

In February 1998 new labour laws were introduced, ending the Korean tradition of lifetime employment by allowing companies to introduce redundancies, which had previously been prohibited. However, 6 trillion won ($4.3 billion) was to be spent on welfare provision and retraining for the unemployed, since unemployment was expected to rise during the coming year as a result of the economic crisis in Southeast Asia. In addition, there were reforms to open South Korea's financial markets to foreigners. In May there were large-scale strikes as workers demanded an easing of the austerity reforms agreed with the IMF and more generous benefits for the unemployed.

In March 1998 President Kim Dae Jung freed 2,304 prisoners, as part of a broader amnesty. This figure included 74 political prisoners, but international human-rights organizations claimed that around 400 ‘prisoners of conscience’ remained in jail.

In August 1998 there was serious labour unrest and violence continued at Hyundai, the country's largest car maker, which was seeking to lay off workers in the face of slumping sales and financial losses. GDP was set to contract by at least 5% in 1998, as a result of austerity measures.

Kim Jong-Pil's appointment as prime minister was finally ratified by the legislature in August 1998, after sufficient deputies had switched sides to President Kim Dae-Jung's ruling coalition a national assembly majority.

Renewed North-South talks

In October 1998 representatives of North and South Korea, the USA, and China met in Geneva in a renewed effort to bring permanent peace to the peninsula. However, it was not until April 2000 when both North and South Korea simultaneously announced the arrangement of the first summit meeting between the divided countries. Kim Dae Jung and the hereditary leader of North Korea, Kim Jong Il, planned to meet in June 2000 in Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea. Just days after the announcement, South Korea's ruling party failed to secure a majority in parliamentary elections. When Kim Dae Jung was welcomed by Kim Jong Il, leader of North Korea, in Pyongyang, capital of North Korea, the two leaders came to some agreement, including a plan for South Korea to speed up economic investment in North Korea, and a plan to open rail links between the two countries. Following the agreement that links between the two countries would be forged, in August 2000, 100 elderly people from either side of the border were reunited with their families from whom they had been separated for 50 years. In September 2000, the defence ministers of North and South Korea met for the first time in more than 50 years. Kim Dae Jung was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on 13 October 2000 for his work in bringing about reconciliation with the communist government of North Korea.

In September 2001, South Korea's parliament passed a vote of no confidence in Lim Ding Won, the minister in charge of negotiations with North Korea, triggering the resignation of the entire cabinet. A government spokesman said that the policy of reconciliation with the North would still continue.

In June 2002, in the worst clash between North and South Korea in three years, naval vessels fired on each other in disputed coastal waters in the Yellow Sea. Four South Korean sailors were killed and 19 injured, while around 30 North Korean casualties were reported. The incident threatened to derail Kim Dae Jung's policy of engagement with the North.

New president

The presidential elections of December 2002 were won by Roh Moo-hyun. Parliament attempted to impeach him in the spring of 2004, but this was overturned by the constitutional court.

Ban Ki-Moon Cheju

Inchon, Battle of Korea

Korea, South Korea: history 1637-1953

Korean War North Korea

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