Korea, South

Airports

total: 103 usable: 93 with permanent-surface runways: 59 with runways over 3,659 m: 0 with runways 2,440-3,659 m: 22 with runways 1,220-2,439 m: 18

Highways

63,201 km total (1991); 1,551 expressways, 12,190 km national highway, 49,460 km provincial and local roads

Inland waterways

1,609 km; use restricted to small native craft

Merchant marine

431 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 6,689,227 GRT/11,016,014 DWT; includes 2 short-sea passenger, 138 cargo, 61 container, 11 refrigerated cargo, 9 vehicle carrier, 45 oil tanker, 12 chemical tanker, 13 liquefied gas, 2 combination ore/oil, 135 bulk, 2 combination bulk, 1 multifunction large-load carrier

Pipelines

petroleum products 455 km

Ports

Pusan, Inchon, Kunsan, Mokpo, Ulsan

Railroads

3,091 km total (1991); 3,044 km 1.435 meter standard gauge, 47 km 0.610-meter narrow gauge, 847 km double track; 525 km electrified, government owned

Telecommunications

excellent domestic and international services; 13,276,449 telephone subscribers; broadcast stations - 79 AM, 46 FM, 256 TV (57 of 1 kW or greater); satellite earth stations - 2 Pacific Ocean INTELSAT and 1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT

Branches

Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force

Defense expenditures

exchange rate conversion - $12.2 billion, 3.6% of GNP (1993 est.)

Manpower availability

males age 15-49 13,286,969; fit for military service 8,542,640; reach military age (18) annually 432,434 (1993 est.)

Agriculture

accounts for 8% of GNP and employs 21% of work force (including fishing and forestry); principal crops - rice, root crops, barley, vegetables, fruit; livestock and livestock products - cattle, hogs, chickens, milk, eggs; self-sufficient in food, except for wheat; fish catch of 2.9 million metric tons, seventh-largest in world

Budget

revenues $48.4 billion; expenditures $48.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1993)

Currency

1 South Korean won (W) = 100 chon (theoretical)

Economic aid

US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $3.9 billion; non-US countries (1970-89), $3.0 billion

Electricity

24,000,000 kW capacity; 105,000 million kWh produced, 2,380 kWh per capita (1992)

Exchange rates

South Korean won (W) per US$1 - 791.99 (January 1993), 780.65 (1992), 733.35 (1991), 707.76 (1990), 671.46 (1989), 731.47 (1988)

Exports

$76.8 billion (f.o.b., 1992) commodities: textiles, clothing, electronic and electrical equipment, footwear, machinery, steel, automobiles, ships, fish partners: US 24%, Japan 15% (1992)

External debt

$42 billion (1992)

Fiscal year

calendar year

Imports

$81.7 billion (c.i.f., 1992) commodities: machinery, electronics and electronic equipment, oil, steel, transport equipment, textiles, organic chemicals, grains partners: Japan 24%, US 22% (1992)

Industrial production

growth rate 5.0% (1992 est.); accounts for about 45% of GNP

Industries

textiles, clothing, footwear, food processing, chemicals, steel, electronics, automobile production, shipbuilding

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

4.5% (1992 est.)

National product

GNP - purchasing power equivalent - $287 billion (1992 est.)

National product per capita

$6,500 (1992 est.)

National product real growth rate

5% (1992 est.)

Overview

The driving force behind the economy's dynamic growth has been the planned development of an export-oriented economy in a vigorously entrepreneurial society. Real GNP increased more than 10% annually between 1986 and 1991. This growth ultimately led to an overheated situation characterized by a tight labor market, strong inflationary pressures, and a rapidly rising current account deficit. As a result, in 1992, focusing attention on slowing the growth rate of inflation and reducing the deficit is leading to a slow-down in growth. The economy remains the envy of the great majority of the world's peoples.

Unemployment rate

2.4% (1992 est.)

Area

total area: 98,480 km2 land area: 98,190 km2 comparative area: slightly larger than Indiana

Climate

temperate, with rainfall heavier in summer than winter

Coastline

2,413 km

Environment

occasional typhoons bring high winds and floods; earthquakes in southwest; air pollution in large cities

International disputes

Demarcation Line with North Korea; Liancourt Rocks claimed by Japan

Irrigated land

13,530 km2 (1989)

Land boundaries

total 238 km, North Korea 238 km

Land use

arable land: 21% permanent crops: 1% meadows and pastures: 1% forest and woodland: 67% other: 10%

Location

Northeast Asia, between North Korea and Japan

Map references

Asia, Standard Time Zones of the World

Maritime claims

continental shelf: not specified territorial sea: 12 nm; 3 nm in the Korea Strait

Natural resources

coal, tungsten, graphite, molybdenum, lead, hydropower

Terrain

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

Abbreviation

ROK

Administrative divisions

9 provinces (do, singular and plural) and 6 special cities* (jikhalsi,, singular and plural); Ch'ungch'ong-bukto, Ch'ungch'ong-namdo, Inch'on-jikhalsi*, Kangwon-do,, Kwangju-jikhalsi*,, Pusan-jikhalsi*, Soul-t'ukpyolsi*, Taegu-jikhalsi*, Taejon-jikhalsi*, Independence: 15 August 1948

Capital

Seoul

Constitution

25 February 1988

Digraph

KS

Diplomatic representation in US

chief of mission: Ambassador HAN Seung Soo chancery: 2370 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: (202) 939-5600 consulates general: Agana (Guam), Anchorage, Atlanta, Chicago, Honolulu, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, and Seattle

Elections

President: last held on 18 December 1992 (next to be held NA December 1997); results - KIM Young Sam (DLP) 41.9%, KIM Dae Jung (DP) 33.8%, CHUNG Ju Yung (UPP) 16.3%, other 8% National Assembly: last held on 24 March 1992; results - DLP 38.5%, DP 29.2%, Unification National Party (UNP) 17.3% (name later changed to UPP), other 15%; seats - (299 total) DLP 149, DP 97, UNP 31, other 22; the distribution of seats as of May 1993 was DLP 167, DP 95, UPP 14, other 23 note: the change in the distribution of seats reflects the fluidity of the current situation where party members are constantly switching from one party to another

Executive branch

president, prime minister, two deputy prime ministers, State Council (cabinet)

Flag

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

Judicial branch

Supreme Court

Leaders

Chief of State: President KIM Young Sam (since 25 February 1993) Head of Government: Prime Minister HWANG In Sung (since 25 February 1993); Deputy Prime Minister LEE Kyung Shick (since 25 February 1993) and Deputy Prime Minister HAN Wan Sang (since 25 February 1993)

Legal system

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

Legislative branch

unicameral National Assembly (Kuk Hoe)

Member of

AfDB, APEC, AsDB, CCC, COCOM (cooperating country), CP, EBRD, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LORCS, OAS (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Names

conventional long form: Republic of Korea conventional short form: South Korea local long form: Taehan-min'guk local short form: none

National holiday

Independence Day, 15 August (1948)

Other political or pressure groups

Korean National Council of Churches; National Democratic Alliance of Korea; National Federation of Student Associations; National Federation of Farmers' Associations; National Council of Labor Unions; Federation of Korean Trade Unions; Korean Veterans' Association; Federation of Korean Industries; Korean Traders Association

Political parties and leaders

majority party: Democratic Liberal Party (DLP), KIM Young Sam, president opposition: Democratic Party (DP), LEE Ki Taek, executive chairman; United People's Party (UPP), CHUNG Ju Yung, chairman; several smaller parties note: the DLP resulted from a merger of the Democratic Justice Party (DJP), Reunification Democratic Party (RDP), and New Democratic Republican Party (NDRP) on 9 February 1990

Suffrage

20 years of age; universal

Type

republic

US diplomatic representation

chief of mission: (vacant), Charge d'Affaires Raymond BURGHARDT embassy: 82 Sejong-Ro, Chongro-ku, Seoul, AMEMB, Unit 15550 mailing address: APO AP 96205-0001 telephone: [82] (2) 732-2601 through 2618 FAX: [82] (2) 738-8845 consulate: Pusan

Birth rate

15.72 births/1,000 population (1993 est.)

Death rate

6.16 deaths/1,000 population (1993 est.)

Ethnic divisions

homogeneous (except for about 20,000 Chinese)

Infant mortality rate

22.5 deaths/1,000 live births (1993 est.)

Labor force

19 million by occupation: services and other 52%, mining and manufacturing 27%, agriculture, fishing, forestry 21% (1991)

Languages

Korean, English widely taught in high school

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 70.29 years male: 67.1 years female: 73.68 years (1993 est.)

Literacy

age 15 and over can read and write (1990) total population: 96% male: 99% female: 94%

Nationality

noun: Korean(s) adjective: Korean

Net migration rate

0.91 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1993 est.)

Population

44,613,993 (July 1993 est.)

Population growth rate

1.05% (1993 est.)

Religions

Christianity 48.6%, Buddhism 47.4%, Confucianism 3%, pervasive folk religion (Shamanism), Chondogyo (religion of the heavenly way) 0.2%

Total fertility rate

1.64 children born/woman (1993 est.)