Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Korea

한국의 왕국
Kingdom of Korea

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The Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Korea (Korean: 국무총리; Hanja: 國務總理; RR: Gungmuchongni) (informally referred to as PMKoK or PMK) is appointed by the Taewang of Korea, with the National Assembly's approval. This is usually just a formality with the leader of the either majority party or largest party usually becoming the Prime Minister at the start of a session of the Assembly. The Prime Minister is neither the head of state nor government but rather serves in a role similar to that of a vice president, however they deal with the day to day running of the country on behalf of the Taewang.

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 just Chongni.

South Korea

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. The title was Chief Cabinet Minister from 1961 until 1963, the officeholder was not required to be a member of the National Assembly. The Prime Minister was not the head of government but rather served in a role similar to that of a vice president.

North Korea

The position of Prime Minister is generally considered to be the successor to the previous Premier of the Cabinet that existed between 1948 and 1990, it was the non-executive head of government of North Korea. The office is also alternatively known as Prime Minister of North Korea. Originally, under the 1948 Constitution of the DPRK, the Premier was a very important post and held actual power over the government. Kim Il-sung himself inaugurated the post, keeping it for 24 years until 1972, while the ceremonial role of the head of State rested in the Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly.

The 1972 Constitution created the post of President of the DPRK for Kim Il-sung, transferring to it all the paramount power. The Premier was now the head of the Administration Council, but most of the powers of the former cabinet were passed to the Central People's Committee, the highest ruling council chaired by the president himself. The first premier after Kim Il-sung was his long-time ally Kim Il. The post was then officially known as Premier of the Administration Council (정무원 총리, jungmuwon chongni).

After Kim Il-sung died, the post of president remained vacant (officially Kim Il-sung was proclaimed Eternal President) as Kim Jong-il planned a new State reorganization. A constitutional revision was due to abolish both the Central People's Committee and the Administration Council, re-creating the Cabinet, but Kim Jong-il was killed before this could take place.

Following the November Revolution in 1989 which led to the collapse of the Democratic People's Republic, a new constitution was drafted and approved in February 1990 which was largely based off that of South Korea. The new position was inspired by the original Primier of the Cabinet that existed between 1948 and 1972, but with greatly reduced powers.

Modern Day

Upon the unification of the two Korea's in 1993 the post did not change massively with then North Korean Prime Minister Lin Min-jung becoming the Prime Minister of a unified Korea. After the Joseon Restoration in 1997 the Prime Minister shifted from one of almost vice-presidential status to one seen in most Commonwealth countries as a head of government charged with the day to day running of the country. Lin Min-jung narrowly beat out Chung Il-kwon as the longest serving Prime Minister serving 6 years and 234 days, beating him by 10 days

In 2009 the original titles were reverted with the office being officially translated as Prime Minister, along with the State Council being named once again the National Assembly. In 2016 former Prime Minister Park Geun-hye once again took power and dramatically increased the powers of the Prime Minister. For three years Korea was ruled effectively by a military Junta that backed Park with Monarchy sidelined. Following the Princely Revolution in 2019 the original power dynamic of the 2005 constitution was reinstated.

The Prime Minister is the principal executive assistant to the Taewang, the Prime Minister assists the Taewang by supervising ministries, making recommendations for ministers, and serves as the Chairman of the Cabinet on behalf of the Taewang who will attend a monthly 'Grand Meeting of Cabient'. A Prime Minister that has been appointed by the Taewang but not yet confirmed by the National Assembly is informally called the acting Prime Minister. The term may also be applied to a Prime Minister that has resigned but remains in office in a caretaker role.

The Prime Minister is the leader of the Imperial Government in the National Assembly and is ultimately responsible for the policy and decisions of the government, unless directed by the Taewang. The Prime Minister will impliment policies in their party programme from the election period, although with the implimentation of the 2023 constitution, promises made in manifestos can be overuled by the Taewang. The Prime Minister will collaberate with Taewang and Cabinet to fomulate other policies throughout the term of a parliament. They are the principle face of the Government in the National Assembly. Once a week they will meet with the Taewang officially, although in recent years the Office of the Prime Minister and the Imperial House are nearly in daily contact.

The Prime Ministers's Office consists of two organisations - Office for Government Policy Coordination and Prime Minister's Secretariat which are led by ministerial-level Minister for Government Policy Coordination and vice-ministerial-level Chief of Staff to the Prime Minister respectively.

Office for Government Policy Coordination assists the Prime Minister with:

various tasks, responsible for directing, adjusting and overseeing central administrative authorities underneath the Prime Minister's Office;
planning and adjusting key national policies;
managing, analyzing and assessing policies in regard to social risks, conflicts and pending problems;
implementing regulatory reform;
and doing other tasks specifically delegated by the Prime Minister.

Prime Minister's Secretariat assists the Prime Minister with:

activities related to the National Assembly, responsible for matters regarding collaboration between the executive branch and the majority party in the legislature;
providing Prime Minister with counsel on state affairs;
matters regarding key information and situations both domestic and international;
management and arbitration of civil complaints;
supporting and collaborating with civil groups;
promoting Prime Minister's activities in relation to state affairs;
drafting Prime Minister's remarks and statements;
supporting the promotion of activities by the Office for Government Policy Coordination;
protocols and armed escort regarding Prime Minister and receiving VIPs;
maintaining the official residence of Prime Minister;
and handling other matters as instructed by Prime Minister.