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1. CIA World Factbook 2002
Korea, South

   Introduction Korea, South
   -------------------------
                            Background: After World War II, a republic was
                                        set up in the southern half of the
                                        Korean Peninsula while a Communist-
                                        style government was installed in
                                        the north. The Korean War (1950-53)
                                        had US and other UN forces intervene
                                        to defend South Korea from North
                                        Korean attacks supported by the
                                        Chinese. 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 far outstripping
                                        the level of North Korea. In 1997,
                                        the nation suffered a severe
                                        financial crisis from which it
                                        continues to make a solid recovery.
                                        South Korea has also maintained its
                                        commitment to democratize its
                                        political processes. In June 2000, a
                                        historic first south-north summit
                                        took place between the south's
                                        President KIM Dae-jung and the
                                        north's leader KIM Chong-il. In
                                        December 2000, President KIM Dae-
                                        jung won the Noble Peace Prize for
                                        his lifelong commitment to democracy
                                        and human rights in Asia. He is the
                                        first Korean to win a Nobel Prize.
  
   Geography Korea, South
   ----------------------
                              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 sq km
                                        land: 98,190 sq km
                                        water: 290 sq km
                    Area - comparative: slightly larger than Indiana
                       Land boundaries: total: 238 km
                                        border countries: North Korea 238 km
                             Coastline: 2,413 km
                       Maritime claims: contiguous zone: 24 NM
                                        territorial sea: 12 NM; between 3 NM
                                        and 12 NM in the Korea Strait
                                        continental shelf: not specified
                                        exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
                               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: 17.44%
                                        permanent crops: 2.05%
                                        other: 80.51% (1998 est.)
                        Irrigated land: 11,590 sq km (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 party to: Antarctic-Environmental
                            agreements: Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living
                                        Resources, Antarctic Treaty,
                                        Biodiversity, Climate Change,
                                        Desertification, Endangered Species,
                                        Environmental Modification,
                                        Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea,
                                        Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban,
                                        Ozone Layer Protection, Ship
                                        Pollution, Tropical Timber 83,
                                        Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands,
                                        Whaling
                                        signed, but not ratified: Climate
                                        Change-Kyoto Protocol
                      Geography - note: strategic location on Korea Strait
  
   People Korea, South
   -------------------
                            Population: 48.324 million (July 2002 est.)
                         Age structure: 0-14 years: 21.4% (male 5,488,808;
                                        female 4,875,379)
                                        15-64 years: 71% (male 17,404,645;
                                        female 16,894,361)
                                        65 years and over: 7.6% (male
                                        1,434,873; female 2,225,934) (2002
                                        est.)
                Population growth rate: 0.85% (2002 est.)
                            Birth rate: 14.55 births/1,000 population (2002
                                        est.)
                            Death rate: 6.02 deaths/1,000 population (2002
                                        est.)
                    Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002
                                        est.)
                             Sex ratio: at birth: 1.11 male(s)/female
                                        under 15 years: 1.13 male(s)/female
                                        15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
                                        65 years and over: 0.65 male(s)/
                                        female
                                        total population: 1.01 male(s)/
                                        female (2002 est.)
                 Infant mortality rate: 7.58 deaths/1,000 live births (2002
                                        est.)
              Life expectancy at birth: total population: 74.88 years
                                        female: 78.95 years (2002 est.)
                                        male: 71.2 years
                  Total fertility rate: 1.72 children born/woman (2002 est.)
      HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.01% (1999 est.)
     HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/ 3,800 (1999 est.)
                                  AIDS:
                     HIV/AIDS - deaths: 180 (1999 est.)
                           Nationality: noun: Korean(s)
                                        adjective: Korean
                         Ethnic groups: homogeneous (except for about 20,000
                                        Chinese)
                             Religions: Christian 49%, Buddhist 47%,
                                        Confucianist 3%, Shamanist,
                                        Chondogyo (Religion of the Heavenly
                                        Way), and 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: 98%
                                        male: 99.3%
                                        female: 96.7% (1995 est.)
  
   Government Korea, South
   -----------------------
                          Country name: conventional long form: Republic of
                                        Korea
                                        conventional short form: South Korea
  
                                        local short form: none
                                        note: the South Koreans generally
                                        use the term "Han'guk" to refer to
                                        their country
                                        local long form: Taehan-min'guk
                                        abbreviation: ROK
                       Government type: republic
                               Capital: Seoul
              Administrative divisions: 9 provinces (do, singular and
                                        plural) and 7 metropolitan cities*
                                        (gwangyoksi, singular and plural);
                                        Cheju-do, Cholla-bukto, Cholla-
                                        namdo, Ch'ungch'ong-bukto,
                                        Ch'ungch'ong-namdo, Inch'on-
                                        gwangyoksi*, Kangwon-do, Kwangju-
                                        gwangyoksi*, Kyonggi-do, Kyongsang-
                                        bukto, Kyongsang-namdo, Pusan-
                                        gwangyoksi*, Soul-t'ukpyolsi*,
                                        Taegu-gwangyoksi*, Taejon-
                                        gwangyoksi*, Ulsan-gwangyoksi*
                          Independence: 15 August 1945 (from Japan)
                      National holiday: Liberation Day, 15 August (1945)
                          Constitution: 25 February 1988
                          Legal system: combines elements of continental
                                        European civil law systems, Anglo-
                                        American law, and Chinese classical
                                        thought
                              Suffrage: 20 years of age; universal
                      Executive branch: chief of state: President KIM Dae-
                                        jung (since 25 February 1998)
                                        head of government: Prime Minister
                                        YI Han-tong (since 23 May 2000)
                                        cabinet: State Council appointed by
                                        the president on the prime
                                        minister's recommendation
                                        elections: president elected by
                                        popular vote for a single five-year
                                        term; election last held 18 December
                                        1997 (next to be held 19 December
                                        2002); prime minister appointed by
                                        the president; deputy prime
                                        ministers appointed by the president
                                        on the prime minister's
                                        recommendation
                                        election results: KIM Dae-jung
                                        elected president; percent of vote -
                                        KIM Dae-jung (MDP) 40.3% (with ULD
                                        partnership), YI Hoe-chang (GNP)
                                        38.7%, YI In-che (NPP) 19.2%
                    Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly or
                                        Kukhoe (273 seats total - 227
                                        elected by direct, popular vote;
                                        members serve four-year terms); note
                                        - beginning in 2004, all members
                                        will be directly elected; possible
                                        redistricting before 2004 may affect
                                        the number of seats in the National
                                        Assembly
                                        elections: last held 13 April 2000
                                        (next to be held NA April 2004)
                                        election results: percent of vote by
                                        party - NA%; seats by party - GNP
                                        133, MDP 115, ULD 17, other 8; note
                                        - the distribution of seats as of
                                        January 2002 is: GNP 136, MDP 118,
                                        ULD 15, DPP 2, independents 2
                       Judicial branch: Supreme Court (justices are
                                        appointed by the president with the
                                        consent of the National Assembly)
         Political parties and leaders: Democratic People's Party or DPP
                                        [CHO Sun, chairman]; Grand National
                                        Party or GNP [YI Hoe-chang,
                                        president]; Millennium Democratic
                                        Party or MDP [leader NA]; United
                                        Liberal Democrats or ULD [KIM Chong-
                                        p'il, honorary chairman, KIM Chong-
                                        ho, acting president]
                                        note: on 20 January 2000, the
                                        National Congress for New Politics
                                        or NCNP was renamed the Millennium
                                        Democratic Party or MDP
          Political pressure groups and Federation of Korean Industries;
                               leaders: 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 AfDB, APEC, ARF (dialogue partner),
                         participation: AsDB, ASEAN (dialogue partner),
                                        Australia Group, BIS, CCC, CP, EBRD,
                                        ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO,
                                        ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IEA
                                        (observer), IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO,
                                        ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM,
                                        ISO, ITU, MINURSO, NAM (guest), NEA,
                                        NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW,
                                        OSCE (partner), PCA, UN, UNCTAD,
                                        UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMOGIP,
                                        UNOMIG, UNTAET, UNU, UPU, WCL, WHO,
                                        WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC
   Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador YANG
                                        Song-chol
                                        chancery: 2450 Massachusetts Avenue
                                        NW, Washington, DC 20008
                                        consulate(s) general: Anchorage,
                                        Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Honolulu,
                                        Houston, Los Angeles, New York, San
                                        Francisco, and Seattle
                                        consulate(s): Tamuning (Guam)
                                        FAX: [1] (202) 387-0205
                                        telephone: [1] (202) 939-5600
     Diplomatic representation from the chief of mission: Ambassador Thomas
                                    US: C. HUBBARD
                                        embassy: 82 Sejong-ro, Chongro-ku,
                                        Seoul 110-710
                                        mailing address: American Embassy,
                                        Unit 15550, APO AP 96205-0001
                                        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
  
   Economy Korea, South
   --------------------
                    Economy - overview: As one of the Four Tigers of East
                                        Asia, South Korea has achieved an
                                        incredible record of growth. Three
                                        decades ago GDP per capita was
                                        comparable with levels in the poorer
                                        countries of Africa and Asia. Today
                                        its GDP per capita is seven times
                                        India's, 17 times North Korea's, and
                                        comparable to the lesser economies
                                        of the European Union. 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
                                        certain longstanding weaknesses in
                                        South Korea's development model,
                                        including high debt/equity ratios,
                                        massive foreign borrowing, and an
                                        undisciplined financial sector.
                                        Growth plunged by 6.6% in 1998, then
                                        strongly recovered to plus 10% in
                                        1999 and 9% 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 have stalled.
                                   GDP: purchasing power parity - $865
                                        billion (2001 est.)
                GDP - real growth rate: 3.3% (2001 est.)
                      GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $18,000
                                        (2001 est.)
           GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 5%
                                        industry: 44%
                                        services: 51% (2001 est.)
         Population below poverty line: 4% (2001 est.)
     Household income or consumption by lowest 10%: 2.6%
                      percentage share: highest 10%: 24.8% (1998 est.)
   Distribution of family income - Gini 31.6 (1993)
                                 index:
      Inflation rate (consumer prices): 4.3% (2001 est.)
                           Labor force: 22 million (2001)
           Labor force - by occupation: services 69%, industry 21.5%,
                                        agriculture 9.5% (2001)
                     Unemployment rate: 3.9% (2001)
                                Budget: revenues: $118.1 billion
                                        expenditures: $95.7 billion,
                                        including capital expenditures of
                                        $22.6 billion (2000)
                            Industries: electronics, automobile production,
                                        chemicals, shipbuilding, steel,
                                        textiles, clothing, footwear, food
                                        processing
     Industrial production growth rate: 1.8% (2001 est.)
              Electricity - production: 273.204 billion kWh (2000)
    Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 60.63%
                                        hydro: 1.45%
                                        other: 0.03% (2000)
                                        nuclear: 37.89%
             Electricity - consumption: 254.08 billion kWh (2000)
                 Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (2000)
                 Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (2000)
                Agriculture - products: rice, root crops, barley,
                                        vegetables, fruit; cattle, pigs,
                                        chickens, milk, eggs; fish
                               Exports: $168.3 billion (f.o.b., 2001)
                 Exports - commodities: electronic products, machinery and
                                        equipment, motor vehicles, steel,
                                        ships; textiles, clothing, footwear;
                                        fish
                    Exports - partners: US 21.8%, Japan 11.9%, China 10.7%,
                                        Hong Kong 6.2%, Taiwan 4.7% (2000)
                               Imports: $152.3 billion (f.o.b., 2001)
                 Imports - commodities: machinery, electronics and
                                        electronic equipment, oil, steel,
                                        transport equipment, textiles,
                                        organic chemicals, grains
                    Imports - partners: Japan 19.8%, US 18.2%, China 8%,
                                        Saudi Arabia 6%, Australia 3.7%
                                        (2000)
                       Debt - external: $120.5 billion (2001)
              Economic aid - recipient: $NA
                              Currency: South Korean won (KRW)
                         Currency code: KRW
                        Exchange rates: South Korean won per US dollar -
                                        1,317.01 (January 2002), 1,290.99
                                        (2001), 1,130.96 (2000), 1,188.82
                                        (1999), 1,401.44 (1998), 951.29
                                        (1997)
                           Fiscal year: calendar year
  
   Communications Korea, South
   ---------------------------
        Telephones - main lines in use: 24 million (2000)
          Telephones - mobile cellular: 28 million (September 2000)
                      Telephone system: general assessment: excellent
                                        domestic and international services
                                        domestic: NA
                                        international: fiber-optic submarine
                                        cable to China; the Russia-Korea-
                                        Japan submarine cable; satellite
                                        earth stations - 3 Intelsat (2
                                        Pacific Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean)
                                        and 1 Inmarsat (Pacific Ocean
                                        region)
              Radio broadcast stations: AM 104, FM 136, shortwave 5 (2001)
                                Radios: 47.5 million (2000)
         Television broadcast stations: 121 (plus 850 repeater stations and
                                        the eight-channel American Forces
                                        Korea Network) (1999)
                           Televisions: 15.9 million (1997)
                 Internet country code: .kr
     Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 11 (2000)
                        Internet users: 22.23 million (2001)
  
   Transportation Korea, South
   ---------------------------
                              Railways: total: 3,124 km
                                        standard gauge: 3,124 km 1.435-
                                        m gauge (661 km electrified) (2000)
                              Highways: total: 87,534 km
                                        paved: 65,388 km (including 1,996 km
                                        of expressways)
                                        unpaved: 22,146 km (1999)
                             Waterways: 1,609 km
                                        note: restricted to small native
                                        craft
                             Pipelines: petroleum products 455 km
                     Ports and harbors: Chinhae, Inch'on, Kunsan, Masan,
                                        Mokp'o, P'ohang, Pusan, Tonghae-
                                        hang, Ulsan, Yosu
                       Merchant marine: total: 501 ships (1,000 GRT or over)
                                        totaling 5,679,171 GRT/9,172,403 DWT
  
                                        ships by type: bulk 104, cargo 160,
                                        chemical tanker 47, combination bulk
                                        6, container 52, liquefied gas 16,
                                        multi-functional large-load carrier
                                        1, passenger 3, petroleum tanker 73,
                                        refrigerated cargo 25, roll on/roll
                                        off 5, short-sea passenger 1,
                                        specialized tanker 3, vehicle
                                        carrier 5, includes some foreign-
                                        owned ships registered here as a
                                        flag of convenience: Australia 1,
                                        Bulgaria 1, China 1, Greece 1, Japan
                                        1, Malaysia 1, Norway 1, Panama 1,
                                        Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1,
                                        United Kingdom 1 (2002 est.)
                              Airports: 102 (2001)
         Airports - with paved runways: total: 68
                                        over 3,047 m: 2
                                        2,438 to 3,047 m: 19
                                        914 to 1,523 m: 11
                                        under 914 m: 20 (2001)
                                        1,524 to 2,437 m: 16
       Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 34
                                        914 to 1,523 m: 2
                                        under 914 m: 32 (2001)
                             Heliports: 203 (2001)
  
   Military Korea, South
   ---------------------
                     Military branches: Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps,
                                        National Maritime Police (Coast
                                        Guard)
      Military manpower - military age: 18 years of age (2002 est.)
      Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 14,194,960 (2002
                                        est.)
   Military manpower - fit for military males age 15-49: 8,990,488 (2002
                               service: est.)
           Military manpower - reaching males: 394,397 (2002 est.)
                 military age annually:
         Military expenditures - dollar $12.8 billion (FY00)
                                figure:
     Military expenditures - percent of 2.8% (FY00)
                                   GDP:
  
   Transnational Issues Korea, South
   ---------------------------------
                Disputes - international: Demarcation Line with North Korea;
                                          Liancourt Rocks (Takeshima/Tokdo)
                                          disputed with Japan
  
                                       



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