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Political Corruption Index vs. Electoral Democracy Index in South Korea

South Korea: Political Corruption Index vs. Electoral Democracy Index was 0.156 in 2025. ▼ Falling

Latest (2025)
0.156
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
141st
of 176 countries
All-time high
0.675
in 1849
All-time low
0.113
in 2019
Years of data
237
1789–2025

Political Corruption Index vs. Electoral Democracy Index in South Korea, 1789–2025

0.20.40.6178919072025

Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.

Analysis

South Korea recorded 0.156 for political corruption index vs. electoral democracy index in 2025.

That represents a change of down 33.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, political corruption index vs. electoral democracy index in South Korea peaked at 0.675 in 1849 and was at its lowest, 0.113, in 2019.

South Korea ranks 141st of 176 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 237 years of available data.

Political Corruption Index vs. Electoral Democracy Index in South Korea, year by year

Year Value Change
1789 0.565 —
1790 0.565 +0.0%
1791 0.565 +0.0%
1792 0.565 +0.0%
1793 0.565 +0.0%
1794 0.565 +0.0%
1795 0.565 +0.0%
1796 0.565 +0.0%
1797 0.565 +0.0%
1798 0.565 +0.0%
1799 0.565 +0.0%
1800 0.624 +10.4%
1801 0.624 +0.0%
1802 0.624 +0.0%
1803 0.624 +0.0%
1804 0.624 +0.0%
1805 0.624 +0.0%
1806 0.624 +0.0%
1807 0.624 +0.0%
1808 0.624 +0.0%
1809 0.624 +0.0%
1810 0.624 +0.0%
1811 0.624 +0.0%
1812 0.624 +0.0%
1813 0.624 +0.0%
1814 0.624 +0.0%
1815 0.624 +0.0%
1816 0.624 +0.0%
1817 0.624 +0.0%
1818 0.624 +0.0%
1819 0.624 +0.0%
1820 0.624 +0.0%
1821 0.624 +0.0%
1822 0.624 +0.0%
1823 0.624 +0.0%
1824 0.624 +0.0%
1825 0.624 +0.0%
1826 0.624 +0.0%
1827 0.624 +0.0%
1828 0.624 +0.0%
1829 0.624 +0.0%
1830 0.624 +0.0%
1831 0.624 +0.0%
1832 0.624 +0.0%
1833 0.624 +0.0%
1834 0.624 +0.0%
1835 0.624 +0.0%
1836 0.624 +0.0%
1837 0.624 +0.0%
1838 0.624 +0.0%
1839 0.624 +0.0%
1840 0.655 +5.0%
1841 0.655 +0.0%
1842 0.655 +0.0%
1843 0.655 +0.0%
1844 0.655 +0.0%
1845 0.655 +0.0%
1846 0.655 +0.0%
1847 0.655 +0.0%
1848 0.655 +0.0%
1849 0.675 +3.1%
1850 0.675 +0.0%
1851 0.675 +0.0%
1852 0.675 +0.0%
1853 0.675 +0.0%
1854 0.675 +0.0%
1855 0.675 +0.0%
1856 0.675 +0.0%
1857 0.675 +0.0%
1858 0.675 +0.0%
1859 0.675 +0.0%
1860 0.675 +0.0%
1861 0.675 +0.0%
1862 0.675 +0.0%
1863 0.675 +0.0%
1864 0.565 -16.3%
1865 0.565 +0.0%
1866 0.565 +0.0%
1867 0.565 +0.0%
1868 0.565 +0.0%
1869 0.565 +0.0%
1870 0.565 +0.0%
1871 0.565 +0.0%
1872 0.565 +0.0%
1873 0.565 +0.0%
1874 0.624 +10.4%
1875 0.624 +0.0%
1876 0.624 +0.0%
1877 0.624 +0.0%
1878 0.624 +0.0%
1879 0.624 +0.0%
1880 0.675 +8.2%
1881 0.675 +0.0%
1882 0.675 +0.0%
1883 0.675 +0.0%
1884 0.675 +0.0%
1885 0.675 +0.0%
1886 0.675 +0.0%
1887 0.675 +0.0%
1888 0.675 +0.0%
1889 0.675 +0.0%
1890 0.675 +0.0%
1891 0.675 +0.0%
1892 0.675 +0.0%
1893 0.675 +0.0%
1894 0.675 +0.0%
1895 0.675 +0.0%
1896 0.675 +0.0%
1897 0.63 -6.7%
1898 0.63 +0.0%
1899 0.63 +0.0%
1900 0.63 +0.0%
1901 0.63 +0.0%
1902 0.63 +0.0%
1903 0.63 +0.0%
1904 0.63 +0.0%
1905 0.63 +0.0%
1906 0.63 +0.0%
1907 0.63 +0.0%
1908 0.63 +0.0%
1909 0.63 +0.0%
1910 0.612 -2.9%
1911 0.6 -2.0%
1912 0.6 +0.0%
1913 0.6 +0.0%
1914 0.6 +0.0%
1915 0.6 +0.0%
1916 0.6 +0.0%
1917 0.6 +0.0%
1918 0.6 +0.0%
1919 0.6 +0.0%
1920 0.6 +0.0%
1921 0.6 +0.0%
1922 0.6 +0.0%
1923 0.6 +0.0%
1924 0.6 +0.0%
1925 0.6 +0.0%
1926 0.6 +0.0%
1927 0.6 +0.0%
1928 0.6 +0.0%
1929 0.6 +0.0%
1930 0.6 +0.0%
1931 0.6 +0.0%
1932 0.6 +0.0%
1933 0.6 +0.0%
1934 0.6 +0.0%
1935 0.6 +0.0%
1936 0.6 +0.0%
1937 0.6 +0.0%
1938 0.6 +0.0%
1939 0.6 +0.0%
1940 0.6 +0.0%
1941 0.6 +0.0%
1942 0.6 +0.0%
1943 0.6 +0.0%
1944 0.6 +0.0%
1945 0.564 -6.0%
1946 0.5 -11.3%
1947 0.5 +0.0%
1948 0.514 +2.8%
1949 0.614 +19.5%
1950 0.623 +1.5%
1951 0.623 +0.0%
1952 0.623 +0.0%
1953 0.623 +0.0%
1954 0.623 +0.0%
1955 0.623 +0.0%
1956 0.623 +0.0%
1957 0.623 +0.0%
1958 0.623 +0.0%
1959 0.623 +0.0%
1960 0.525 -15.7%
1961 0.545 +3.8%
1962 0.565 +3.7%
1963 0.565 +0.0%
1964 0.565 +0.0%
1965 0.565 +0.0%
1966 0.565 +0.0%
1967 0.565 +0.0%
1968 0.565 +0.0%
1969 0.565 +0.0%
1970 0.565 +0.0%
1971 0.565 +0.0%
1972 0.572 +1.2%
1973 0.572 +0.0%
1974 0.572 +0.0%
1975 0.572 +0.0%
1976 0.572 +0.0%
1977 0.572 +0.0%
1978 0.572 +0.0%
1979 0.572 +0.0%
1980 0.571 -0.2%
1981 0.571 +0.0%
1982 0.571 +0.0%
1983 0.567 -0.7%
1984 0.567 +0.0%
1985 0.567 +0.0%
1986 0.567 +0.0%
1987 0.512 -9.7%
1988 0.458 -10.5%
1989 0.458 +0.0%
1990 0.458 +0.0%
1991 0.458 +0.0%
1992 0.441 -3.7%
1993 0.293 -33.6%
1994 0.308 +5.1%
1995 0.308 +0.0%
1996 0.29 -5.8%
1997 0.29 +0.0%
1998 0.257 -11.4%
1999 0.256 -0.4%
2000 0.237 -7.4%
2001 0.237 +0.0%
2002 0.201 -15.2%
2003 0.147 -26.9%
2004 0.132 -10.2%
2005 0.132 +0.0%
2006 0.132 +0.0%
2007 0.132 +0.0%
2008 0.17 +28.8%
2009 0.17 +0.0%
2010 0.18 +5.9%
2011 0.18 +0.0%
2012 0.196 +8.9%
2013 0.213 +8.7%
2014 0.213 +0.0%
2015 0.233 +9.4%
2016 0.233 +0.0%
2017 0.134 -42.5%
2018 0.129 -3.7%
2019 0.113 -12.4%
2020 0.113 +0.0%
2021 0.16 +41.6%
2022 0.124 -22.5%
2023 0.154 +24.2%
2024 0.156 +1.3%
2025 0.156 +0.0%

South Korea compared with similar countries

  • South Korea's 0.156 is above the median for high income countries, which is 0.085, 1.8× the median. (55 countries reporting)
  • South Korea's 0.156 is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 0.51, 31% of the median. (22 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1780s 0.565 0.565 0.565 1
1790s 0.565 0.565 0.565 10
1800s 0.624 0.624 0.624 10
1810s 0.624 0.624 0.624 10
1820s 0.624 0.624 0.624 10
1830s 0.624 0.624 0.624 10
1840s 0.657 0.655 0.675 10
1850s 0.675 0.675 0.675 10
1860s 0.609 0.565 0.675 10
1870s 0.6004 0.565 0.624 10
1880s 0.675 0.675 0.675 10
1890s 0.6615 0.63 0.675 10
1900s 0.63 0.63 0.63 10
1910s 0.6012 0.6 0.612 10
1920s 0.6 0.6 0.6 10
1930s 0.6 0.6 0.6 10
1940s 0.5692 0.5 0.614 10
1950s 0.623 0.623 0.623 10
1960s 0.559 0.525 0.565 10
1970s 0.5706 0.565 0.572 10
1980s 0.5409 0.458 0.571 10
1990s 0.3359 0.256 0.458 10
2000s 0.169 0.132 0.237 10
2010s 0.1824 0.113 0.233 10
2020s 0.1438 0.113 0.16 6

Countries ranked near South Korea

  1. 139 Lithuania 0.159 compare
  2. 140 Italy 0.157 compare
  3. 142 Palestine 0.152 compare
  4. 143 Bhutan 0.148 compare
  5. 144 Spain 0.113 compare

See the full ranking of 176 places →

More social development data for South Korea

All data for South Korea →

Frequently asked questions

What is political corruption index vs. electoral democracy index in South Korea?
Political corruption index vs. electoral democracy index in South Korea was 0.156 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest political corruption index vs. electoral democracy index recorded in South Korea?
The highest recorded value was 0.675 in 1849.
What is the lowest political corruption index vs. electoral democracy index recorded in South Korea?
The lowest recorded value was 0.113 in 2019.
How does South Korea rank for political corruption index vs. electoral democracy index?
South Korea ranks 141st out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
Is political corruption index vs. electoral democracy index rising or falling in South Korea?
Over the last ten years it is down 33.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this South Korea data come from?
The figures come from V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Political Corruption Index vs. Electoral Democracy Index. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Political Corruption Index vs. Electoral Democracy Index in South Korea. Statizoid, drawing on V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 08 November 2026, from https://social-development.statizoid.com/stat/political-corruption-index-vs-electoral-democracy-index/korea-rep/

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About this data

Indicator
Political Corruption Index vs. Electoral Democracy Index
Source
V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
176 places, 25,295 data points, 1789–2025
Last refreshed

Central estimate of the extent to which a country is affected by political corruption.