# State Council of South Korea

The State Council of the Republic of Korea (Korean: 국무회의; Hanja: 國務會議; RR: Gungmuhoeui) is the chief executive body and national cabinet of South Korea involved in discussing "important policies that fall within the power of the Executive" as specified by the Constitution. The most influential part of the executive branch of the government of South Korea are the ministries.

## Members

As of August 2020, the Executive Branch of the government operates 23 ministries, 18 administrative authorities, 2 boards, 4 offices, and 7 committees. The State Council includes 18 ministers, the prime minister and the president. Ministers must be appointed into the State Council before confirmation by the National Assembly. The president is the chairperson of the State Council, and the prime minister is the vice-chairperson.
Although not the official members of the State Council the following individuals, and other officials designated by law or deemed necessary by the Chairperson of the State Council, can also attend State Council meetings and speak in front of the State Council without the right to vote on the matters discussed in the meetings of the SC-ROK. The individuals are:
* Presidential Chief of Staff (대통령비서실장)
* Director of the National Security Office (국가안보실장)
* Chief Presidential Secretary for Policy (대통령정책실장)
* Minister of Government Policy Coordination (국무조정실장)
* Minister of Personnel Management (인사혁신처장)
* Minister of Government Legislation (법제처장)
* Minister of Food and Drug Safety (식품의약품안전처장)
* Chairperson of the Korea Fair Trade Commission (공정거래위원회위원장)
* Chairperson of the Financial Services Commission (금융위원회위원장)
* Mayor of Seoul (서울특별시장)
The Mayor of Seoul, although being the head of a local autonomous region in South Korea and not directly related to the central executive branch, has been allowed to attend State Council meetings considering the special status of Seoul as a Special City and its mayor as the only cabinet-level mayor in Korea.

### Current members

| Portfolio | Minister | Portrait | Tenure | Tenure | Party | Party |
| Portfolio | Minister | Portrait | Took office | Time in office | Party | Party |
| Cabinet Ministers |||||||
| Acting President | Choi Sang-mok | | 27 December 2024 | 76 days | | Independent |
| Acting Prime Minister | Choi Sang-mok | | 27 December 2024 | 76 days | | Independent |
| Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance | Choi Sang-mok | | 29 December 2023 | 1 year, 74 days | | Independent |
| President | Yoon Suk Yeol | | 10 May 2022 | 2 years, 307 days | | People Power |
| Prime Minister | Han Duck-soo | | 21 May 2022 | 2 years, 296 days | | Independent |
| Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education | Lee Ju-ho | | 7 November 2022 | 2 years, 126 days | | Independent |
| Minister of Science and ICT | Yoo Sang-im | | 16 August 2024 | 270 days | | Independent |
| Minister of Foreign Affairs | Cho Tae-yul | | 11 January 2024 | 1 year, 61 days | | Independent |
| Minister of Unification | Kim Yung-ho | | 31 July 2023 | 1 year, 225 days | | Independent |
| Minister of Justice | Park Sung-jae | | 20 February 2024 | 1 year, 21 days | |
| Minister of National Defense | vacant | | | 0 days | |
| Minister of the Interior and Safety | vacant | | | 0 days | | Independent |
| Minister of Patriots and Veterans Affairs | Kang Jung-ai | | 26 December 2023 | 1 year, 77 days | | Independent |
| Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism | Yu In-chon | | 7 October 2023 | 1 year, 157 days | | Independent |
| Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs | Song Mi-ryung | | 29 December 2023 | 1 year, 74 days | | Independent |
| Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy | Ahn Duk-geun | | 5 January 2024 | 1 year, 67 days | | Independent |
| Minister of Health and Welfare | Cho Kyoo-hong | | 5 October 2022 | 2 years, 159 days | | Independent |
| Minister of Environment | Kim Wan-sup | | 24 July 2024 | 232 days | | Independent |
| Minister of Employment and Labor | Kim Moon-soo | | 30 August 2024 | 195 days | | Independent |
| Minister of Gender Equality and Family | vacant | | | 0 days | |
| Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport | Park Sang-woo | | 23 December 2023 | 1 year, 80 days | | Independent |
| Minister of Oceans and Fisheries | Kang Do-hyung | | 29 December 2023 | 1 year, 74 days | | Independent |
| Minister of SMEs and Startups | Oh Young-ju | | 29 December 2023 | 1 year, 74 days | | Independent |
| Other Attendees |||||||
| Presidential Chief of Staff | Chung Jin-suk | | 23 April 2024 | 324 days | | Independent |
| Director of the National Security Office | Shin Won-sik | | 12 August 2024 | 213 days | | Independent |
| Minister of Government Policy Coordination | Bang Ki-sun | | 25 August 2023 | 1 year, 200 days | | Independent |
| Minister of Personnel Management | Yeon Won-jeong | | 8 July 2024 | 248 days | | Independent |
| Minister of Government Legislation | Lee Wan-kyu | | 13 May 2022 | 2 years, 304 days | | Independent |
| Minister of Food and Drug Safety | Oh Yu-kyoung | | 27 May 2022 | 2 years, 290 days | | Independent |
| Chairperson of the Korea Fair Trade Commission | Han Ki-jeong | | 16 September 2022 | 2 years, 178 days | | Independent |
| Chairperson of the Financial Services Commission | Kim Joo-hyun | | 11 July 2022 | 2 years, 245 days | | Independent |
| Mayor of Seoul | Oh Se-hoon | | 8 April 2021 | 3 years, 339 days | | People Power |

## Role

The State Council is the highest body for policy deliberation and resolution in the executive branch of the Republic of Korea. Article 89 of the South Korean constitution specifies what "important policies that fall within the power of the Executive" the State Council has to deliver:
   * Basic plans for state affairs, and general policies of the Executive;
   * Declaration of war, conclusion of peace and other important matters pertaining to foreign policy;
   * Draft amendments to the Constitution, proposals for national referenda, proposed treaties, legislative bills, and proposed presidential decrees;
   * Budgets, settlement of accounts, basic plans for disposal of state properties, contracts incurring financial burden on the State, and other important financial matters;
   * Emergency orders and emergency financial and economic actions or orders by the President, and declaration and termination of martial law;
   * Important military affairs;
   * Requests for convening an extraordinary session of the National Assembly;
   * Awarding of honors;
   * Granting of amnesty, commutation and restoration of rights;
   * Demarcation of jurisdiction among the Ministries of the Executive;
   * Basic plans concerning delegation or allocation of powers within the Executive;
   * Evaluation and analysis of the administration of state affairs;
   * Formulation and coordination of important policies of each Executive Ministry;
   * Action for the dissolution of a political party;
   * Examination of petitions pertaining to executive policies submitted or referred to the Executive;
   * Appointment of the Prosecutor General, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Chief of Staff of each armed service, the presidents of national universities, ambassadors, and such other public officials and managers of important state-run enterprises as designated by Act; and
   * Other matters presented by the President, the Prime Minister or a member of the State Council.
The State Council of the Republic of Korea performs somewhat different roles than those of many other nations with similar forms. As the Korean political system is basically a presidential system yet with certain aspects of the parliamentary system combined, the State Council of the Republic of Korea also is a combination of both systems. More specifically, the Korean State Council performs policy resolutions as well as policy consultations to the President. Reflecting that the Republic of Korea is basically a presidential republic the State Council resolutions cannot bind the president's decision, and in this regard the Korean State Council is similar to those advisory councils in strict presidential republics. At the same time, however, the Constitution of the Republic of Korea specifies in details 17 categories including budgetary and military matters, which necessitates the resolution of the State Council in addition to the President's approval, and in this regard the Korean State Council is similar to those State Councils in strict parliamentary systems.

## Meetings

Although the president is the chairman of the council, the Prime Minister nevertheless frequently holds the meetings without the presence of the President as the meeting can be lawfully held as long as the majority of the State Council members are present at the meeting. Also, as many government agencies have recently been moved out of Seoul into other parts of the country, the need to hold State Council meetings without having to convene in one place at the same time has been growing, and therefore the law has been amended to allow State Council meetings in a visual teleconference format.