The political landscape in South Korea
The Constitution of South Korea establishes a clear separation of powers in the government. As head of state, head of government, and commander-in-chief of the armed forces, the president has the authority to enact laws, appoint the prime minister, and declare war. Legislative power is exercised by the National Assembly, which is a unicameral parliament of 300 members who are elected for four-year terms. Judicial power is vested in the Supreme Court, the Constitutional Court, and other high and district courts.South Korea has a multi-party system, but the political landscape is highly polarized. The liberal Democratic Party and the conservative People Power Party are currently the country's two largest political parties, whose foundations date back to the 1990s. The last few years have seen an intensification of political polarization, especially when opposing political identities and ideologies have clashed with sensitive socio-political and economic issues such as the minimum wage or rising property prices. This was particularly evident in the most recent presidential elections in 2022, in which conservative Yoon Suk Yeol won the closest race in the country's history by a margin of 0.8 percentage points over his liberal rival Lee Jae-myung.