1987 South Korean presidential election
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Turnout | 89.15% | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Results by provincial-level divisions | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Presidential elections were held in South Korea on 16 December 1987.[1] They marked the establishment of the Sixth Republic, as well as the end of the authoritarian rule that had prevailed in the country for all but one year since its founding in 1948. They were the first direct presidential elections since 1971. For the previous 15 years, presidents had been indirectly elected by the National Conference for Unification, an electoral college dominated by the governing party.
The elections took place following a series of protests and before the 1988 Summer Olympics, which would be held in Seoul.[2] Roh Tae-woo of the governing Democratic Justice Party won the elections with 37% of the vote. The two major opposition candidates, Kim Young-sam and Kim Dae-jung, won over 55% of the vote between them. Voter turnout was 89%.
Background
The elections were held following a series nationwide of protests for free and fair election and civil liberties. This period from 10 to 29 June became known as the
Process of constitutional revision
Under the presidency of Chun Doo-hwan the constitution was rewritten to maintain his power while restricting the presidency to a single seven-year term, and legislation such as the Basic Press Law, which closed hundreds of media organizations, was passed.[4] The constitution also stipulated that any amendment to extend the president's term would not apply to the incumbent, preventing an attempt to allow Chun to run again in 1987.[5]
However, following the success of the opposition New Korean Democratic Party (NKDP) in the National Assembly elections in April 1985, calls were made for constitutional changes. On 13 April 1986 Chun made a speech defending the constitution, stating that the successor to the presidency would be a member of his own party, the Democratic Justice Party (DJP), and that any constitutional debate would be put off until the end of the 1988 Olympics, which South Korea was to host.[4] In its argument, the DJP argued that the opposition was splintered, and could not act as a negotiating partner. They believed that political uncertainty would injure both the Olympic setup and the upcoming election.[6]
Nearly a month later on 10 June, mass protests broke out as Roh Tae-woo, the chair of the DJP, was announced as Chun's successor.
- Direct participation in upcoming presidential election for all citizens over age 20
- Freedom of candidacy and fair competition
- Amnesty for Kim Dae-jung and other political prisoners
- Protection of human dignity and promotion of basic human rights
- Freedom of the press and abolishment of the restrictive Basic Press Law (see: Media of South Korea)
- Educational autonomy and local self-government
- The creation of a new political climate for dialogue and compromise
- Commitment to enact bold social reforms to build a clean, honest, and more just society.
The new constitutional amendment was ratified by the National Assembly on 12 October, and was submitted to a referendum to the South Korean public on 27 October. 93% of voters cast ballots in favor of the amendment, which permitted the direct, democratic election of the 6th President of South Korea.[4]
Presidential nominations
Democratic Justice Party
The
New Democratic Republican Party
The New Democratic Republican Party (NDRP) National Convention was held on 30 October at Heungsadan Hall in Seoul. Kim Jong-pil, former prime minister and former five-term lawmaker from South Chungcheong, was chosen as the party's candidate.[8]
Reunification Democratic Party
The Reunification Democratic Party (RDP) National Convention was held on 9 November at Sejong Center for Performing Arts in Seoul. Kim Young-sam, a former seven-term lawmaker from Busan, was nominated for president by the acclamation of 1,203 delegates.[9]
Peace Democratic Party
The Peace Democratic Party (PDP) National Convention was held on 12 November at Sejong Center for Performing Arts in Seoul. Kim Dae-jung, a former four-term lawmaker from South Jeolla and 1971 presidential candidate, was nominated for president.[10]
Campaign
As only a minority of votes would be required to win under the
Kim Young-sam
Kim, viewed as a more moderate, pragmatic politician and open to compromise, attracted the backing of senior retired military figures opposed to the incumbent government,
Kim Jong-pil
Kim, who was an associate of former president and dictator
Kim Dae-jung
Kim, a devout Roman Catholic, campaigned on liberal democracy, social welfare, and a free-market economy. However, he was widely seen as a radical, and the candidate which the military feared would win, along with many middle-class voters. Despite attempts to moderate that image, he attracted most appeal among the dissident movement, such as human rights activists, students, organized labor, and lower-income voters. Kim's strongest support came from North and South Jeolla Provinces, his home region. He was expected to receive 80 to 90 percent of the Jeolla vote, and do well in the capital Seoul and Gyeonggi Province.[11]
Roh Tae-woo
Roh Tae-woo worked hard to dissociate himself from the widely unpopular Chun Doo-hwan. Roh promised continued democratization and economic reforms, while emphasizing stability. The ruling DJP's support base came from the rural areas, the farming population which made up 20 percent of the total population, while in urban areas, Roh attracted conservative middle-class voters and less-educated, low-income workers. Roh's home base was
Results
Candidate | Party | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Roh Tae-woo | Democratic Justice Party | 8,282,738 | 36.64 | |
Kim Young-sam | Reunification Democratic Party | 6,337,581 | 28.04 | |
Kim Dae-jung | Peace Democratic Party | 6,113,375 | 27.05 | |
Kim Jong-pil | New Democratic Republican Party | 1,823,067 | 8.07 | |
Shin Jeong-yil | Unified Korea Party | 46,650 | 0.21 | |
Total | 22,603,411 | 100.00 | ||
Valid votes | 22,603,411 | 97.99 | ||
Invalid/blank votes | 463,008 | 2.01 | ||
Total votes | 23,066,419 | 100.00 | ||
Registered voters/turnout | 25,873,624 | 89.15 | ||
Source: Nohlen et al. |
By region
Region | Roh Tae-woo | Kim Young-sam | Kim Dae-jung | Kim Jong-pil | Shin Jeong-yil | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | |
Seoul | 1,682,824 | 29.95 | 1,637,347 | 29.14 | 1,833,010 | 32.62 | 460,988 | 8.20 | 4,560 | 0.08 |
Busan | 640,622 | 32.11 | 1,117,011 | 55.98 | 182,409 | 9.14 | 51,663 | 2.59 | 3,612 | 0.18 |
Daegu | 800,363 | 70.70 | 274,880 | 24.28 | 29,831 | 2.64 | 23,230 | 2.05 | 3,774 | 0.33 |
Incheon | 326,186 | 39.95 | 248,604 | 29.99 | 176,611 | 21.31 | 76,333 | 9.21 | 1,126 | 0.14 |
Gwangju | 22,943 | 4.82 | 2,471 | 0.52 | 449,554 | 94.41 | 1,111 | 0.23 | 74 | 0.02 |
Gyeonggi | 1,204,235 | 41.45 | 800,274 | 27.55 | 647,934 | 22.30 | 247,259 | 8.51 | 5,621 | 0.19 |
Gangwon | 546,569 | 59.53 | 240,585 | 26.20 | 81,478 | 8.87 | 46,954 | 5.11 | 2,628 | 0.29 |
North Chungcheong | 355,222 | 46.90 | 213,851 | 28.23 | 83,132 | 10.98 | 102,456 | 13.53 | 2,796 | 0.37 |
South Chungcheong | 402,491 | 26.22 | 246,527 | 16.06 | 190,772 | 12.43 | 691,214 | 45.03 | 3,902 | 0.25 |
North Jeolla | 160,760 | 14.14 | 17,130 | 1.51 | 948,955 | 83.46 | 8,629 | 0.76 | 1,501 | 0.13 |
South Jeolla | 119,229 | 8.17 | 16,826 | 1.15 | 1,317,990 | 90.28 | 4,831 | 0.33 | 994 | 0.07 |
North Gyeongsang | 1,108,035 | 66.39 | 470,189 | 28.17 | 39,756 | 2.38 | 43,227 | 2.59 | 7,812 | 0.47 |
South Gyeongsang | 792,757 | 41.17 | 987,042 | 51.26 | 86,804 | 4.51 | 51,242 | 2.66 | 7,567 | 0.39 |
Jeju | 120,502 | 49.77 | 64,844 | 26.78 | 45,139 | 18.64 | 10,930 | 4.51 | 683 | 0.28 |
Total | 8,282,738 | 36.64 | 6,337,581 | 28.04 | 6,113,375 | 27.05 | 1,823,067 | 8.07 | 46,650 | 0.21 |
Source: National Election Committee |
Planned rigging of results in event of opposition win
According to American Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) documents obtained by Hong Kong's South China Morning Post through a freedom of information request in July 2019, the military-backed ruling forces feared the loss of its hand-picked candidate Roh Tae-woo that it drew up detailed plans to fix the election result. The CIA briefing added that a “plan for extensive fraud is already being implemented”.
The brief added that the government was "considering black propaganda and dirty tricks, reportedly to include ballot tampering; some officials now appear prepared to go even further" and “ruling-camp planners have thought about fabricating evidence of ruling-party fraud to give Chun an opportunity to declare the election null and void if government projections from early returns indicate Roh is losing”.
The documents suggested that the government was prepared to crack down hard on any unrest following the vote, with an Intel briefing stating that an “open arrest order” had been prepared for opposition candidate Kim Dae-jung if he tried to “instigate a popular revolt against the election results”.[12]
Reaction
According to Lynn Turk, at the time a Seoul-based US State Department foreign service officer who watched the campaign and the election closely on a moment-to-moment basis noted the allegations as “a very interesting story”, but stated “the votes were counted fairly and Roh really did win fair and square.” He added: “On election night each of the four parties had observers at each polling place and got a carbon copy of the public hand-counted vote. So the totals their command posts registered matched the official count.”[13]
Park Chul-un, brother-in-law and aide to Roh Tae-woo, said ‘no election fraud was planned or carried out’ in the 1987 election in response to the SCMP report.[14]
References
- ISBN 0-19-924959-8
- OCLC 17386117.
- ^ OCLC 52996563.
- ^ OCLC 974834381.
- Country Studies
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2017-04-29.
- ^ 강, 성구 (10 June 1987). "[6.10 민정당전당대회]전당대회 및 대통령후보 지명대회[강성구]". imnews.imbc.com (in Korean). Retrieved 2018-04-24.
- ^ 강, 성구 (30 October 1987). "[13대 대선]신민주공화당 중앙당 창당 대회[김형민]". imnews.imbc.com (in Korean). Retrieved 2018-04-24.
- ^ 강, 성구 (9 November 1987). "[13대 대선]민주당 임시전당대회,김영삼총재 후보 공식 추대[박석태]". imnews.imbc.com (in Korean). Retrieved 2018-04-24.
- ^ 손, 석희 (12 November 1987). "평화민주당 창당대회, 대통령후보 추대 전당 대회[정성환]". imnews.imbc.com (in Korean). Retrieved 2018-04-24.
- ^ a b c d e "A turn toward democracy? South Korea's elections tomorrow are a result of a people's demand for reform". Christian Science Monitor. 15 December 1987. Retrieved 4 November 2021.
- ^ Power, John (2019-07-20). "Secret CIA files reveal plans for meddling in South Korea's first democratic election". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 2019-07-20.
- ^ Martin, Bradley K. (2019-07-21). "South Korean generals 'considered' cheating in 1987 election". Asia Times. Retrieved 2019-11-11.
- ^ Chan-kyong, Park (2019-07-22). "In South Korea, No 2 to former president Roh dismisses 'dirty tricks' in CIA files as groundless". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 2019-11-11.