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The Repulic of Korea(South) and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea(North) have long been neighbors, though rarely on friendly terms.
Called simply Korea before World War II, it wasn't an independent country. Japanese occupation had forced it to yield to Japan soon after World War I. The Japanese government exiled Korea's long-standing government, and forbade it any governmental system. But the Koreans were rebellious to this invading force, and set up an underground council called "Government-In-Exile" (GIE). Though most Koreans knew about this council, not one word of it passed their lips and it became Korea's closely guarded secret weapon.
One man in the GIE was Syngman Rhee, an aristocrat taught as a businessman in the US. Even before the GIE was established in the 1940's, Rhee was actively involved in his pursuit of Korean independence. Leaving Korea in the midst of WWII, Rhee set out to persuade the United Nations (UN) to acknowledge Korea as an independent nation. It was a hard battle, but Rhee's motivation and training paid off. The UN officially recognized Korea as an independent power. By then, WWII was over and the UN declared that Korea be split at the thirty-eighth parallel of latitude and divided between the two allied super powers - the US and the Soviet Union.
At first, Southern Korea rebelled at once again being invaded, but soon found themselves to be a free country. They adopted a costitution in 1948 and officially named the country the Republic of Korea soon after. When elections were held for a president in 1950, Syngman Rhee was unanimously elected. By then he was 73 and conservative in his thinking. But his smooth talking once again proclaimed him victor when he persuaded the National Assembly to amend the South Korean constitution in 1954, giving him the Presidency for life.
To this day, South Korea maintains its freedom. The President, head of both state and government, is elected to the office of Chief Executive for a 5 year term. He formulates national policy and appoints a Premier and Cabinet as well as visiting with foreign dignataries and heads of state.
The Prime Minister, or Premier, however, carries out the business side of government. It is the Premier who travels to other countries and meets foreign leaders. It is also the Premier who addresses the National Assembly on actions the President wishes to take with national policy. The President is also assisted by a hand picked group of advisors, his Council of Ministers, or Cabinet.
The National Assembly, much like the United States' Congress, gives Korean law its needed push. But, unlike Congress, the South Korean National Assembly is unicameral, or one-housed. It has 299 members, only 243 of which are elected. The other 56 members are chosen from a list submitted by the President to the National Conference for Unification(NCU). The NCU then decides which people are suitable for the position.
The last rung of South Korea's national government is the court system. This system is headed by a Supreme Court, followed by a Court of Appeals, and trailed by various district courts.
Each province of South Korea has its own local government as well. Each province is headed by an appointed governor who answers to the executive branch of national government. The South Korean constitution also dictates that each province is to have its own elected councils, who will hold limitted legislative power.
The national government of South Korea has established a welfare program, allotted to certain types of people. The elderly, handicapped, wounded veterans and war widows are the only people to receive this welfare. South Korea’s political parties were suspended in 1961, but reinstated in 1963. Today, there are two major parties: the Democratic Republican Party and the New Democratic Party.
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