Investor Presentaiton

352 KEY INDICATORS GDP per capita, PPP (constant 2005 international dollars) Life expectancy at birth, total (years) Literacy rate, adult total (percent of people age 15+) Human Development Index (out of 169) Rule of Law (out of 5) Voice and Accountability (out of 5) Democracy Index (out of 167) Digital Opportunity Index (out of 181) South Korea 25,493 80 99* 12 3.5 3.2 20 (Full democracy) 1 Internet penetration rate (percentage of population) 81.5 *South Korea does not report literacy rate information. In previous years, the United Nations has assumed a literacy rate of 99 percent for the country. See United Nations Development Program, "Human Development Report 2009: Overcoming barriers: Human mobility and development," 2009, http://hdr.undp.org/en/media/HDR_2009_EN_Complete.pdf. Source by indicator: World Bank 2009, World Bank 2008a, UNDP 2009, UNDP 2010, World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators 2009, Economist Intelligence Unit 2010, ITU 2007, ITU 2009. See Introduction to the Country Profiles, pp. 222-223. Background The Republic of Korea (commonly referred to as South Korea) was established in 1948 and spent most of its first four decades under authoritarian rule. In response to massive protests in 1987, the government eventually enacted a democratic constitution that has endured to this day. South Korea has become one of the most vibrant democracies in the eastern hemisphere, and its human rights record has markedly improved since the 1990s. Today, South Korean citizens enjoy universal suffrage and broad constitu- tional freedoms, and they choose their leaders in free and fair multiparty elections. The diplomatic policies of South Korea are heavily influenced by its relationship with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (commonly referred to as North Korea). South Korea has been technically at war since the two sides fought to a stale- mate in 1953. Since then the government has often been intolerant of dissident views, particularly from supporters of communism or of North Korea.¹ The National Security Law (NSL) is the epitome of the government's stance—thousands of South Koreans have been arrested under the anticommunist law since its enactment in 1948.2 Although prosecutions under the NSL have significantly decreased since the late 20th century, there have been a few recent high-profile investigations using the law. At the start of the 21st century, South Korea attempted a new policy of engagement with

View entire presentation