Prime Minister of South Korea.

Nomenclature

The Sino-Korean word gungmu (국무/國務) means state affairs"and chongni (총리/總理) means prime minister premier or chancellor so the full title in Korean means literally Prime Minister for State Affairs but it is not used as official English title. The short title in Korean is simply Chongni.

History.

The position was created on 31 July 1948, two weeks before the government of South Korea was founded, and was held by Lee Beom-seok until 1950. During the Second Republic a parliamentary system was established and the prime minister became the most powerful position, with the president reduced to a figurehead. Chang Myon was the only prime minister of the second republic until the military coup of 1961. The title was Chief Cabinet Minister from 1961 until 1963.

On 27 April 2014, Prime Minister Chung Hong-won announced his desire to resign. However, due to unsuccessful nominations, Chung remained in office until February 2015.

On 23 January 2015, President Park Geun-hye named Saenuri's Floor Leader Lee Wan-koo as the new prime minister. Lee was confirmed by the National Assembly as Prime Minister on 16 February 2015. However, on April 20 of the same year, he offered his resignation to the President in the midst of a bribery scandal.

Functions

The prime minister is the principal executive assistant to the president, with the president being the actual head of government. The prime minister holds the second position after the president in the State Council of South Korea, which is the nominal cabinet of South Korea. The prime minister assists the president by supervising ministries, making recommendations for ministers, and serves as the vice-chairperson of the Cabinet. The prime minister is the first in the order of succession to discharge the duties of the office of the president as the acting president should the president be unable to discharge their office. The most recent person to have served as Acting President was Hwang Kyo-ahn, during the impeachment of Park Geun-hye in 2016. The role of the Prime Minister is more akin to the Vice President of the United States than it is to the Prime Ministers of parliamentary democracies.

A prime minister that has been appointed by the president but not yet confirmed by the National Assembly is informally called as the acting prime minister. The term may also be applied to a prime minister that has resigned but in the interim remains in office in a caretaker role.

The prime minister is supported by two deputy prime ministers. The prime minister of South Korea sometimes holds some professional or technological knowledge whereas the president is always a sole politician

Removal

The procedure for impeachment is set out in the 10th Constitution of South Korea in 1987. And according to Article 65 Clause 1, if the president, prime minister, or other state council members violate the Constitution or other laws of official duty, the National Assembly can impeach them.

Clause 2 states the impeachment bill must be proposed by one third, and approved by the majority of members of the National Assembly for passage. In the case of the president, the motion must be proposed by a majority and approved by two thirds or more of the total members of the National Assembly, meaning that 200 of 300 members of the parliament must approve the bill. This article also states that any person against whom a motion for impeachment has been passed shall be suspended from exercising their power until the impeachment has been adjudicated, and a decision on impeachment shall not extend further than removal from public office. However, impeachment shall not exempt the person impeached from civil or criminal liability for such violations.

By the Constitutional Court Act of 1988, the Constitutional Court must make a final decision within 180 days after it receives any case for adjudication, including impeachment cases. If the respondent has already left office before the pronouncement of the decision, the case is dismissed.