| National Seal of the Republic of Korea 대한민국의 국새 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Armiger |  South Korea |
| Adopted | 25 October 2011; 12 years ago (2011-10-25) |
| Motto | 대한민국 |
The National Seal of the Republic of Korea (Korean: 대한민국의 국새; Hanja: 大韓民國之璽; RR: Daehanmingugui guksae; MR: Taehanmin'gugŭi kuksae) is a governmental seal used for purposes of state in South Korea.[1][2] The seal is carved with characters called injang.[1]
Since the late 20th century, the seal's design consists of South Korea's official name written in hangeul inside of a square; during the mid-20th century Chinese charactersinSeal Script were used.
Following the establishment of the South Korean state in August 1948, its government adopted in May 1949 a new state seal, or guksae (Korean: 국새). It is used in promulgation of constitutions, designation of cabinet members and ambassadors, conference of national orders and important diplomatic documents.[3]
The seal's design has been modified multiple times over the years. The first version of the seal, used until the early 1960s, used Hanja characters.[3] Later, the lettering was changed to use only Hangeul characters.[3]
The current seal is the fifth version and was designed in September 2011, being adopted in October 2011.[3]
