South Korea
2026
- GOVERNMENT
- presidential republic
- CONSTITUTION
- October 29, 1987
- LEGAL SYSTEM
- based on elements of European, Anglo-American, and Chinese codes
- LEGISLATIVE SYSTEM
- unicameral, National Assembly (Kukhoe)
- JUDICIAL SYSTEM
- Supreme Court, judges appointed by the President and ratified by the National Assembly; Constitutional Court
RELIGIONS
Christians 26%, Buddhists 23%, none 49%
From the country
- JANUARY 18, 2000South KoreaDEATH PENALTY
Yi Chong-pin, the Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister,...
Yi Chong-pin, the Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister, expressed deep regret over the repatriation, saying his ministry did not properly cope with the issue
- JANUARY 17, 2000South KoreaDEATH PENALTY
Analysts said that despite the government's repeated...
Analysts said that despite the government's repeated pledges to guarantee the safety of the seven North Korean defectors, Seoul had few means to prevent the North Korean authorities from executing them
- JANUARY 14, 2000South KoreaDEATH PENALTY
President Kim Tae-chung instructed the Foreign Affairs...
President Kim Tae-chung instructed the Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister, Yi Chong-pin, to take all necessary measures to ensure the safety of the repatriated North Korean defectors
- JANUARY 13, 2000South KoreaDEATH PENALTY
South Korea strongly protested China's return of the...
South Korea strongly protested China's return of the seven North Korean defectors to North Korea on January 12
- JANUARY 9, 2000South KoreaDEATH PENALTY
South Korea's National Red Cross Society urged its...
South Korea's National Red Cross Society urged its Chinese counterpart not to repatriate a group of seven North Koreans who had fled their hunger-stricken communist homeland
- JANUARY 1, 2000South KoreaDEATH PENALTY
Since Independence in 1948, 902 people have been executed...
Since Independence in 1948, 902 people have been executed in South Korea, most of them by hanging
- DECEMBER 1, 1999South KoreaDEATH PENALTY
In December, a group of Korean lawmakers was moving...
In December, a group of Korean lawmakers was moving to ban the death penalty for the first time in the nation's history
- SEPTEMBER 1, 1999South KoreaDEATH PENALTY
In September, some 100 lawmakers from the ruling and...
In September, some 100 lawmakers from the ruling and opposition parties including Lee Kun-kae of the United Liberal Democrats (ULD) were moving to pass a bill which allows the death penalty against those who make or distribute disqualified food, thus clai
- JULY 1, 1999South KoreaDEATH PENALTY
In July, the General Affairs Council examined the European...
In July, the General Affairs Council examined the European Commission's communication of December 1998 on "a new European Union policy towards the Republic of Korea
- MAY 1, 1999South KoreaDEATH PENALTY
In a seminar on the death penalty held in May, the...
In a seminar on the death penalty held in May, the Committee for Justice and Peace, which is under the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Korea, kicked off a lengthy war against capital punishment
- MARCH 26, 1999South KoreaDEATH PENALTY
On March 26, police arrested two young Russian women...
On March 26, police arrested two young Russian women in South Korea, Yelena Patrina and Tatyana Bednenko, both born in 1976, from the Russian city of Khabarovsk, charging them with the murder of another Russian young woman, a friend of the two, Tatyana Ye
- JANUARY 1, 1999South KoreaDEATH PENALTY
According to a survey released in 1999 by Gallup Korea,...
According to a survey released in 1999 by Gallup Korea, 50% advocate capital punishment while 43% oppose it