Since the establishment of the First Republic in 1948, there have been 22 elections for president of South Korea (including the March 1960 election, whose results were invalidated after the April Revolution).
Prior to the Presidential Election Act of 1987, the elections were indirect. Since 1987, the president is elected directly by the public using plurality-with-primaries in a single, non-renewable five-year term.
Procedure (1987–present) The presidential election rules are defined by the South Korean Constitution and the Public Official Election Act.
Election campaign The election campaign period, as set by the Election Law, is short – 23 days. According to the book Internet Election Campaigns in the United States, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan, the election campaign periods in Korea (23 days for presidential elections and 14 days for National Assembly elections) were made intentionally short in order to "prevent excessive campaign spending for long-running election campaigns and harmful effects from overheated elections", but, on the downside, "this works against new candidates who are not well known".
Popular vote The president is elected by direct popular vote, It is conducted in a single round on a first-past-the-post basis.
Summary of past presidential elections
Winning party ideology:
# Year Winner 2nd 3rd NotesFirst RepublicPresident and vice president elected indirectly by the National AssemblyLee (1984), p. 378. 1 1948 Kim KooIn the vice-presidential election, Yi Si-yeong (NARRKI) won over Kim Koo by 57.4% to 33.0%.President and vice president elected by popular vote 2 1952 Syngman Rhee Cho Bong-am Yi Si-yeongThe election took place during the Korean War. In the vice-presidential election, independent Ham Tae-young won the election with 41.3%, defeating Liberal candidate Lee Beom-seok (25.5%) and Democratic Nationalist Chough Pyung-ok (8.1%). 3 1956 Syngman Rhee Cho Bong-amIn the vice-presidential election, Democratic Party candidate Chang Myon defeated Lee Ki-poong (Liberal) by 46.4% to 44.0%. – Mar1960 Syngman RheeRhee re-elected unopposed due to the death of his Democratic Party opponent Chough Pyung-ok. In the vice-presidential election, Lee Ki-poong (Liberal) won with 79.2% over Chang Myon (Democratic) with 17.5%. The results of both elections were annulled as fraudulent after the April Revolution.Second RepublicPresident elected indirectly by both houses of the National Assembly; Vice Presidency abolished 4 Aug1960 Yun Posun The only presidential election of the Second Republic.Third RepublicPresident elected by popular vote 5 1963 Yun PosunFirst election after the May 16 coup. 6 1967 Yun Posun 7 1971 Kim Dae-jungFourth RepublicPresident elected by the National Conference for Unification 8 1972 First election after the October Yushin. Park re-elected unopposed. 9 1978 Park re-elected unopposed. 10 1979 First election after the assassination of Park Chung-hee. Acting President Choi elected as President unopposed. 11 1980 First election after the coup d'état of December Twelfth. Chun elected unopposed.Fifth RepublicPresident elected indirectly 12 1981 Yu Chi-song The only presidential election of the Fifth Republic.Sixth RepublicPresident elected by popular vote 13 1987 Kim Young-sam Kim Dae-jungFirst free and fair direct presidential election in South Korean history. Also the first election to feature a female candidate. 14 1992 Kim Dae-jung Chung Ju-yung 15 1997 Lee Hoi-chang Lee In-je 16 2002 Lee Hoi-chang 17 2007 Lee Hoi-chang 18 2012 Moon Jae-inFirst female president elected in South Korean history.First election since democratization where a candidate won an absolute majority of the vote. 19 2017 Hong Jun-pyo Ahn Cheol-sooHeld after the impeachment and removal of Park Geun-hye. 20 2022 Lee Jae-myung 21 2025 Kim Moon-soo Lee Jun-seokHeld after the impeachment and removal of Yoon Suk Yeol.
See also Elections in South Korea
References