Olivarria 1 Diana Olivarria GCU 114 9/25/13 South Korean Government Executive Branch: The executive branch under

the president as the head of state which consists of the prime minister, the State Council, seventeen executive ministries, seventeen independent agencies, the Board of Inspection and Audit, and the National Intelligence Service. The president is elected by popular vote for one five-year term. The prime minister is appointed by the president together with the approval of the National Assembly (Chunghee ). The president at the moment is President Park Geun-hye who has been in term since February 23th, 2013 (Central Intelligence Agency). When chosen into office on December 19, 2012, it became a remarkable historic event for South Korea and a great leap forward for women when Park Geun-hye defeated 59 year old liberal opponent and former human rights lawyer Moon Jae-in for the South Korean presidency, according to many by becoming president Geun-hye lived up to her nickname as the "Queen of Elections" and, most especially, becoming the nation's first single female president (Park Geunhye). State Council The Presidential Chief of Staff is Prime Minister Kim- Ki Choon, who was elected by President Park Geun-hye and was approved by the National Assembly and so came into office on August 5th, 2013. As Presidential Chief of Staff his duties are to manage and advise the President in a number of different areas: he works with Congress to move the President's agenda forward, and manages and monitors the flow of people and information that come into the President's circle (southkoreagovernment.com). Also the Prime Minister is the first in the order of succession to take on the duties of the office of the President as the acting-president if the president is ever unable to carry out his duties. The National Assembly of South Korea The National Assembly consists of at least 200 members according to the Constitution, the term for the National Assembly lasts for four years and it cannot be dissolved by the president. Within the National Assembly there is a speaker who is in charge of accelerating the legislative process. The Speaker and Deputy Speakers are elected in a secret ballot by the members of the Assembly, and their term in office is restricted to two years. Then there is also a group in the assembly called the Negotiation groups which is formed by 20 people who provide for a negotiation channel among members from different political parties or groups, thereby facilitating parliamentary proceedings by working in advance to collect and fine-tune agenda

Olivarria 2 items from the members belonging to political parties or floor groups (The National Assembly of the Republic of Korea). Work cited Central Intelligence Agency. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ks.html

Chunghee , S. S. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.everyculture.com/Ja-Ma/South-Korea.html

Park Geun-hye. (2013). The Biography Channel website. Retrieved 09:52, Sep 25, 2013, from http://www.biography.com/people/park-geun-hye-21145475.

southkoreagovernment.com. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.southkoreagovernment.com/government.htm

The National Assembly of the Republic of Korea. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://korea.na.go.kr/

Olivarria 3