Governance at a glance
- Government
- Unitary presidential republic
- UN member
- Yes
- Independent
- Yes
- CPI score (2026)
- 63/100
- Press freedom (2025)
- 64.1/100 #61
- Electoral democracy (2025)
- 0.819
- HDI
- 0.937
Government and leaders
- Government type
- Unitary presidential republic
| Title | Name |
|---|---|
| President of South Korea | Lee Jae Myung |
| Prime Minister of South Korea | Kim Min-seok |
Safety and security
- Homicide rate (2023)
- 0.5/100k
- Traffic deaths (2019)
- 8.6/100k
- Military spending (2024)
- 2.6% of GDP
Corruption perceptions index
- CPI score (2026)
- 63 / 100
- Interpretation
- Low corruption
Democracy index
- Electoral (2025)
- 0.819
- Liberal
- 0.739
- Participatory
- 0.551
- Deliberative
- 0.751
- Egalitarian
- 0.712
Press freedom index
- Overall score (2025)
- 64.1 / 100
- Global rank
- #61 / 180
- Rank change
- +1 vs previous year
- RSF zone
- Asie-Pacifique
- Political #79
- 48.8
- Economic #41
- 55.1
- Legal #54
- 69.2
- Social #93
- 59.1
- Safety #52
- 88.1
Press freedom historical data
| Year | Score | Rank | Political | Economic | Legal | Social | Safety |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 64.1 | 61 | 48.8 | 55.1 | 69.2 | 59.1 | 88.1 |
| 2024 | 64.9 | 62 | 51.1 | 54.9 | 69.5 | 61.8 | 87.0 |
| 2023 | 70.8 | 47 | 63.5 | 55.8 | 70.0 | 77.5 | 87.3 |
| 2022 | 72.1 | 43 | 71.2 | 55.3 | 72.8 | 79.8 | 81.5 |
| 2021 | 76.6 | 42 | - | - | - | - | 100.0 |
| 2020 | 76.3 | 42 | - | - | - | - | 100.0 |
| 2019 | 75.1 | 41 | - | - | - | - | 86.1 |
| 2018 | 76.5 | 43 | - | - | - | - | 100.0 |
| 2017 | 72.4 | 63 | - | - | - | - | 100.0 |
| 2016 | 71.4 | 70 | - | - | - | - | 100.0 |
| 2015 | 73.5 | 60 | - | - | - | - | 83.9 |
| 2014 | 74.3 | 57 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2013 | 75.5 | 50 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2012 | 12.7 | 44 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2010 | 13.3 | 42 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2009 | 15.7 | 69 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2008 | 9.0 | 47 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2007 | 12.1 | 39 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2006 | 7.8 | 31 | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2005 | 7.5 | 34 | - | - | - | - | - |