Korea, South

§1. Korea Introduction

Background:
  Korea was an independent kingdom for much of the past millennium. Following
  its victory in the Russo-Japanese War in 1905, Japan occupied Korea; five
  years later it formally annexed the entire peninsula. After World War II, a
  Republic of Korea (ROK) was set up in the southern half of the Korean
  Peninsula while a Communist-style government was installed in the north
  (the DPRK). During the Korean War (1950-53), US troops and UN forces fought
  alongside soldiers from the ROK to defend South Korea from DPRK attacks
  supported by China and the Soviet Union. An armistice was signed in 1953,
  splitting the peninsula along a demilitarized zone at about the 38th
  parallel. Thereafter, South Korea achieved rapid economic growth with per
  capita income rising to roughly 14 times the level of North Korea. In 1993,
  KIM Yo'ng-sam became South Korea's first civilian president following 32
  years of military rule. South Korea today is a fully functioning modern
  democracy. In June 2000, a historic first North-South summit took place
  between the South's President KIM Tae-chung and the North's leader KIM Jong
  Il.

§2. Korea Geography

Location:
  Eastern Asia, southern half of the Korean Peninsula bordering the Sea of
  Japan and the Yellow Sea

Geographic coordinates:
  37 00 N, 127 30 E

Map references:
  Asia

Area:
  total: 98,480 km²
  land: 98,190 km²
  water: 290 km²

Area - comparative:
  slightly larger than Indiana

Land boundaries:
  total: 238 km
  border countries: North Korea 238 km

Coastline:
  2,413 km

Maritime claims:
  territorial sea: 12 nm; between 3 nm and 12 nm in the Korea Strait
  contiguous zone: 24 nm
  exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
  continental shelf: not specified

Climate:
  temperate, with rainfall heavier in summer than winter

Terrain:
  mostly hills and mountains; wide coastal plains in west and south

Elevation extremes:
  lowest point: Sea of Japan 0 m
  highest point: Halla-san 1,950 m

Natural resources:
  coal, tungsten, graphite, molybdenum, lead, hydropower potential

Land use:
  arable land: 16.58%
  permanent crops: 2.01%
  other: 81.41% (2005)

Irrigated land:
  11,590 km² (1998 est.)

Natural hazards:
  occasional typhoons bring high winds and floods; low-level seismic activity
  common in southwest

Environment - current issues:
  air pollution in large cities; acid rain; water pollution from the
  discharge of sewage and industrial effluents; drift net fishing

Environment - international agreements:
  party to: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living
    Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate
    Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental
    Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone
    Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94,
    Wetlands, Whaling
  signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note:
  strategic location on Korea Strait

§3. Korea People

Population:
  48,846,823 (July 2006 est.)

Age structure:
  0-14 years: 18.9% (male 4,844,083/female 4,368,139)
  15-64 years: 71.9% (male 17,886,148/female 17,250,862)
  65 years and over: 9.2% (male 1,818,677/female 2,678,914) (2006 est.)

Median age:
  total: 35.2 years
  male: 34.2 years
  female: 36.3 years (2006 est.)

Population growth rate:
  0.42% (2006 est.)

Birth rate:
  10 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Death rate:
  5.85 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Net migration rate:
  0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.08 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.11 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female
  total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
  total: 6.16 deaths/1,000 live births
  male: 6.54 deaths/1,000 live births
  female: 5.75 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 77.04 years
  male: 73.61 years
  female: 80.75 years (2006 est.)

Total fertility rate:
  1.27 children born/woman (2006 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
  less than 0.1% (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
  8,300 (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
  less than 200 (2003 est.)

Nationality:
  noun: Korean(s)
  adjective: Korean

Ethnic groups:
  homogeneous (except for about 20,000 Chinese)

Religions:
  no affiliation 46%, Christian 26%, Buddhist 26%, Confucianist 1%, other 1%

Languages:
  Korean, English widely taught in junior high and high school

Literacy:
  definition: age 15 and over can read and write
  total population: 97.9%
  male: 99.2%
  female: 96.6% (2002)

§4. Korea Government

Country name:
  conventional long form: Republic of Korea
  conventional short form: South Korea
  local long form: Taehan-min'guk
  local short form: Han'guk
  abbreviation: ROK

Government type:
  republic

Capital:
  Seoul

Administrative divisions:
  9 provinces (do, singular and plural) and 7 metropolitan cities
  (gwangyoksi, singular and plural)
  : provinces: Cheju-do, Cholla-bukto (North Cholla), Cholla-namdo (South
    Cholla), Ch'ungch'ong-bukto (North Ch'ungch'ong), Ch'ungch'ong-namdo
    (South Ch'ungch'ong), Kangwon-do, Kyonggi-do, Kyongsang-bukto (North
    Kyongsang), Kyongsang-namdo (South Kyongsang)
  : metropolitan cities: Inch'on-gwangyoksi (Inch'on), Kwangju-gwangyoksi
    (Kwangju), Pusan-gwangyoksi (Pusan), Soul- t'ukpyolsi (Seoul),
    Taegu-gwangyoksi (Taegu), Taejon-gwangyoksi (Taejon), Ulsan-gwangyoksi
    (Ulsan)

Independence:
  15 August 1945 (from Japan)

National holiday:
  Liberation Day, 15 August (1945)

Constitution:
  17 July 1948

Legal system:
  combines elements of continental European civil law systems, Anglo-American
  law, and Chinese classical thought

Suffrage:
  19 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
  chief of state: President ROH Moo-hyun (since 25 February 2003)
  head of government: Acting Prime Minister HAN Duck-soo (since 14 March
    2006); Deputy Prime Ministers KIM Jin-pyo (since 28 January 2005) and KIM
    Woo-shik (since 3 January 2006)
  cabinet: State Council appointed by the president on the prime minister's
    recommendation
  elections: president elected by popular vote for single five-year term;
    election last held 19 December 2002 (next to be held in December 2007);
    prime minister appointed by president with consent of National Assembly;
    deputy prime ministers appointed by president on prime minister's
    recommendation
  election results: results of the 19 December 2002 election - ROH Moo-hyun
    elected president; percent of vote - ROH Moo-hyun (MDP) 48.9%; LEE
    Hoi-chang (GNP) 46.6%; other 4.5%

Legislative branch:
  unicameral National Assembly or Kukhoe (299 seats - members elected for
  four-year terms; 243 in single-seat constituencies, 56 by proportional
  representation)
  elections: last held 15 April 2004 (next to be held in April 2008;
    byelections held on 30 April 2005 and on 26 October 2005)
  election results: percent of vote by party - Uri 51%, GNP 41%, DLP 3%, DP
    3%, others 2%; seats by party - Uri 144, GNP 127, DP 11, DLP 9, ULD 3,
    independents 5
  note: percent of vote is for 2004 general election; seats by party reflect
    results of April and October 2005 byelections involving six and four
    seats respectively; MDP became DP in May 2005; United Liberal Democrats
    (ULD) merged with GNP in February 2006. (2006)

Judicial branch:
  Supreme Court (justices appointed by president with consent of National
  Assembly); Constitutional Court (justices appointed by president based
  partly on nominations by National Assembly and Chief Justice of the court)

Political parties and leaders:
  Democratic Labor Party or DLP [KWON Young-ghil, interim chairman];
  Democratic Party or DP [HAHN Hwa-kap, chairman]; Grand National Party or
  GNP [PARK Geun-hye, chairwoman]; People-Centered Party or PCP [SHIM
  Dae-pyong, chairman]; Uri Party [YOO Jay-gun, chairman]

Political pressure groups and leaders:
  Federation of Korean Industries; Federation of Korean Trade Unions; Korean
  Confederation of Trade Unions; Korean National Council of Churches; Korean
  Traders Association; Korean Veterans' Association; National Council of
  Labor Unions; National Democratic Alliance of Korea; National Federation of
  Farmers' Associations; National Federation of Student Associations

International organization participation:
  AfDB, APEC, APT, ARF, AsDB, ASEAN (dialogue partner), Australia Group, BIS,
  CP, EAS, EBRD, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA,
  IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU,
  LAIA, MIGA, MINURSO, NAM (guest), NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, ONUB,
  OPCW, OSCE (partner), PCA, PIF (partner), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO,
  UNMIL, UNMOGIP, UNOMIG, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC

Diplomatic representation in the US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador LEE Tae-sik
  chancery: 2450 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
  telephone: [1] (202) 939-5600
  FAX: [1] (202) 387-0205
  consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Honolulu, Houston, Los
    Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Seattle
  consulate(s): Agana (Guam), New York

Diplomatic representation from the US:
  chief of mission: Ambassador Alexander VERSHBOW
  embassy: 32 Sejong-no, Jongno-gu, Seoul 110-710
  mailing address: American Embassy Seoul, Unit 15550, APO AP 96205-5550
  telephone: [82] (2) 397-4114
  FAX: [82] (2) 738-8845

Flag description:
  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

§5. Korea Economy

Economy - overview:
  Since the early 1960s, South Korea has achieved an incredible record of
  growth and integration into the high-tech modern world economy. Four
  decades ago, GDP per capita was comparable with levels in the poorer
  countries of Africa and Asia. In 2004, South Korea joined the trillion
  dollar club of world economies. Today its GDP per capita is equal to the
  lesser economies of the EU. This success through the late 1980s was
  achieved by a system of close government/ business ties, including directed
  credit, import restrictions, sponsorship of specific industries, and a
  strong labor effort. The government promoted the import of raw materials
  and technology at the expense of consumer goods and encouraged savings and
  investment over consumption. The Asian financial crisis of 1997-99 exposed
  longstanding weaknesses in South Korea's development model, including high
  debt/equity ratios, massive foreign borrowing, and an undisciplined
  financial sector. GDP plunged by 6.9% in 1998, then recovered 9.5% in 1999
  and 8.5% in 2000. Growth fell back to 3.3% in 2001 because of the slowing
  global economy, falling exports, and the perception that much-needed
  corporate and financial reforms had stalled. Led by consumer spending and
  exports, growth in 2002 was an impressive 7%, despite anemic global growth.
  Between 2003 and 2005, growth moderated to about 4%. A downturn in consumer
  spending was offset by rapid export growth. In 2005, the government
  proposed labor reform legislation and a corporate pension scheme to help
  make the labor market more flexible, and new real estate policies to cool
  property speculation. Moderate inflation, low unemployment, an export
  surplus, and fairly equal distribution of income characterize this solid
  economy.

GDP (purchasing power parity):
  $965.3 billion (2005 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):
  $801.2 billion (2005 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
  3.9% (2005 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP):
  $20,400 (2005 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
  agriculture: 3.7%
  industry: 40.1%
  services: 56.3% (2005 est.)

Labor force:
  23.53 million (2005 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:
  agriculture 6.4%, industry 26.4%, services 67.2% (2005 est.)

Unemployment rate:
  3.7% (2005 est.)

Population below poverty line:
  15% (2003 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
  lowest 10%: 2.9%
  highest 10%: 25% (2005 est.)

Distribution of family income - Gini index:
  35.8 (2000)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
  2.6% (2005 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):
  28.9% of GDP (2005 est.)

Budget:
  revenues: $195 billion
  expenditures: $189 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005
    est.)

Public debt:
  30.1% of GDP (2005 est.)

Agriculture - products:
  rice, root crops, barley, vegetables, fruit; cattle, pigs, chickens, milk,
  eggs; fish

Industries:
  electronics, telecommunications, automobile production, chemicals,
  shipbuilding, steel

Industrial production growth rate:
  7.3% (2005 est.)

Electricity - production:
  342.1 billion kWh (2004)

Electricity - consumption:
  321.1 billion kWh (2004)

Electricity - exports:
  0 kWh (2004)

Electricity - imports:
  0 kWh (2004)

Oil - production:
  0 bbl/day (2004)

Oil - consumption:
  2.061 million bbl/day (2004)

Oil - exports:
  645,200 bbl/day (2004)

Oil - imports:
  2.263 million bbl/day (2004)

Natural gas - production:
  0 m³ (2003 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:
  24.09 billion m³ (2003 est.)

Natural gas - exports:
  0 m³ (2003 est.)

Natural gas - imports:
  21.11 billion m³ (2003 est.)

Current account balance:
  $14.32 billion (2005 est.)

Exports:
  $288.2 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)

Exports - commodities:
  semiconductors, wireless telecommunications equipment, motor vehicles,
  computers, steel, ships, petrochemicals

Exports - partners:
  China 19.6%, US 17%, Japan 8.6%, Hong Kong 7.1% (2004)

Imports:
  $256 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)

Imports - commodities:
  machinery, electronics and electronic equipment, oil, steel, transport
  equipment, organic chemicals, plastics

Imports - partners:
  Japan 20.6%, China 13.2%, US 12.9%, Saudi Arabia 5.3% (2004)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
  $210.4 billion (2005 est.)

Debt - external:
  $188.4 billion (30 June 2005 est.)

Economic aid - donor:
  ODA, $423.3 million (2004)

Currency (code):
  South Korean won (KRW)

Exchange rates:
  South Korean won per US dollar - 1,024.1 (2005), 1,145.3 (2004), 1,191.6
  (2003), 1,251.1 (2002), 1,291 (2001)

Fiscal year:
  calendar year

§6. Korea Communications

Telephones - main lines in use:
  26,595,100 (2004)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
  36,586,100 (2004)

Telephone system:
  general assessment: excellent domestic and international services
  domestic: NA
  international: country code - 82; 10 fiber-optic submarine cables - 1
    Korea-Russia-Japan, 1 Korea-Japan-Hong Kong, 3 Korea-Japan-China, 1
    Korea-Japan-China-Europe, 1 Korea-Japan-China-US-Taiwan, 1
    Korea-Japan-China, 1 Korea-Japan-Hong Kong-Taiwan, 1 Korea-Japan;
    satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (1 Pacific Ocean and 2 Indian
    Ocean) and 3 Inmarsat (1 Pacific Ocean and 2 Indian Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations:
  AM 61, FM 150, shortwave 2 (2005)

Television broadcast stations:
  terrestrial stations 43; cable operators 59; relay cable operators 190
  (2005)

Internet country code:
  .kr

Internet hosts:
  5,433,591 (2004)

Internet users:
  33.9 million (2005)

§7. Korea Transportation

Airports:
  108 (2005)

Airports - with paved runways:
  total: 70
  over 3,047 m: 3
  2,438 to 3,047 m: 21
  1,524 to 2,437 m: 14
  914 to 1,523 m: 11
  under 914 m: 21 (2005)

Airports - with unpaved runways:
  total: 38
  914 to 1,523 m: 3
  under 914 m: 35 (2005)

Heliports:
  537 (2005)

Pipelines:
  gas 1,433 km; refined products 827 km (2004)

Railways:
  total: 3,472 km
  standard gauge: 3,472 km 1.435-m gauge (1,342 km electrified) (2004)

Roadways:
  total: 97,252 km
  paved: 74,641 km (including 2,778 km of expressways)
  unpaved: 22,611 km (2003)

Waterways:
  1,608 km (most navigable only by small craft) (2006)

Merchant marine:
  total: 650 ships (1000 GRT or over) 7,992,664 GRT/12,730,954 DWT
  by type: bulk carrier 151, cargo 202, chemical tanker 87, container 79,
    liquefied gas 20, passenger 5, passenger/cargo 22, petroleum tanker 53,
    refrigerated cargo 18, roll on/roll off 7, specialized tanker 3, vehicle
    carrier 3
  foreign-owned: 15 (France 12, Singapore 1, UK 2)
  registered in other countries: 362 (Belize 5, Cambodia 18, China 3, Cyprus
    1, Georgia 1, Honduras 6, Hong Kong 12, Indonesia 1, North Korea 1, Malta
    5, Mongolia 1, Panama 285, Singapore 17, Thailand 1, Turkey 1, unknown 4)
    (2005)

Ports and terminals:
  Inch'on, Masan, P'ohang, Pusan, Ulsan

§8. Korea Military

Military branches:
  Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, National Maritime Police (Coast Guard)

Military service age and obligation:
  20-30 years of age for compulsory military service; conscript service
  obligation - 24-28 months, depending on the military branch involved; 18
  years of age for voluntary military service; some 4,000 women serve as
  commissioned and noncommissioned officers, approx. 2.3% of all officers;
  women, in service since 1950, are admitted to seven service branches,
  including infantry, but excluded from artillery, armor, anti-air, and
  chaplaincy corps (2005)

Manpower available for military service:
  males age 20-49: 12,458,257 (2005 est.)

Manpower fit for military service:
  males age 20-49: 9,932,026 (2005 est.)

Manpower reaching military service age annually:
  males: 344,723 (2005 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
  $21.06 billion FY05 (2005 est.)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
  2.6% FY05 (2005 est.)

§9. Korea Transnational Issues

Disputes - international:
  Military Demarcation Line within the 4-km wide Demilitarized Zone has
  separated North from South Korea since 1953; periodic maritime disputes
  with North Korea over the Northern Limit Line; South Korea and Japan claim
  Liancourt Rocks (Tok-do/Take-shima), occupied by South Korea since 1954


<Factbook 2006>
