South Korea's first constitution was adopted in 1948 with the founding of the Republic of Korea, but the document governing the country today is substantially the product of the Ninth Amendment, ratified in 1987 after a mass pro-democracy movement forced the end of military-backed authoritarian rule. That 1987 revision introduced direct popular election of the president to a single, non-renewable five-year term, established the Constitutional Court as an independent guardian of constitutional rights, and marked the formal beginning of what is known as South Korea's Sixth Republic. The 1987 constitution has not been amended since, making it the longest-lasting constitutional order in South Korean history, and it continues to structure the country's presidential system, National Assembly and judiciary.
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