1963 South Korean presidential election

Last updated

1963 South Korean presidential election
Flag of South Korea (1949-1984).svg
  1960 15 October 1963 1967  
  Park Chung-hee 1963's.png Yun Bo-seon.jpg
Nominee Park Chung Hee Yun Posun
Party Democratic Republican Civil Rule
Popular vote4,702,6404,546,614
Percentage46.65%45.10%

1963 South Korean elections result map.png
Map of pluralities won in provinces and cities:

– Park Chung Hee

– Yun Posun

President before election

Park Chung Hee (acting)
Democratic Republican

Elected President

Park Chung Hee
Democratic Republican

Presidential elections were held in South Korea on 15 October 1963. [1] They were the first elections since the 1961 May Coup, and the first during the Third Republic. The result was a narrow victory for the acting incumbent and leader of the governing military Supreme Council for National Reconstruction, Park Chung Hee, who won 46.6% of the vote, securing a transition to civilian rule under his Democratic Republican Party. Voter turnout was 85.0%. [2] [3]

Contents

The elections were marked by a number of irregularities. [4]

Background

General Park Chung Hee, who had led the military government of South Korea since his coup in 1961, agreed to return the power to civil politicians on 8 April 1963, at the same time as announcing he would run for the presidency of the new civilian government. This was after he announced his plans to extend the military rule for another four years, to which United States reacted by threatening to cease all economic aid.

Nominations

Military

The military formed the Democratic Republican Party in February, and Park Chung Hee, who had officially retired from military service the day before, accepted DRP nomination for president in October.

On 3 September, members of the military that were critical of Park's dictatorial behaviour split and formed the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), nominating former Chief of Staff of the Army and former interim prime minister Song Yo-chan for president. Members of the party were oppressed by the government for doing this. Song later withdrew and endorsed Yun Posun.

Civilian

Civilian politicians were deeply divided into multiple parties rather than unifying against Park. On 14 May, Former President Yun Posun and his followers founded the Civil Rule Party (CRP), which nominated Yun as its presidential candidate. Also claiming to represent the civilian politicians was the New Politics Party (NPP), which nominated former Prime Minister Heo Jeong as its candidate.

When it became clear that Park would win easily if both candidates ran, Yun suggested that the civilians unite under one party, which the NPP agreed to. The People's Party (PP) was officially founded in September, uniting the CRP, NPP and Democratic Friendship Party of former Prime Minister Lee Beom-seok. However, after failing to reach an agreement on whether to nominate Yun or Heo for president, on 13 September, the Civil Rule Party split from the PP and officially re-nominated Yun for president. The factions of Heo and Lee, which remained in the PP, nominated Heo.

On 2 October, Heo withdrew his bid for presidency and endorsed Yun, hoping to help defeat Park. [5] [6]

Results

CandidatePartyVotes%
Park Chung Hee Democratic Republican Party 4,702,64046.65
Yun Posun Civil Rule Party 4,546,61445.10
Oh Chaeo-yong Independent408,6644.05
Byeon Yeong-tae Righteous Citizens Party224,4432.23
Ching I-sokNew Development Party198,8371.97
Total10,081,198100.00
Valid votes10,081,19891.35
Invalid/blank votes954,9778.65
Total votes11,036,175100.00
Registered voters/turnout12,985,05184.99
Source: Nohlen et al.

By province

Province or cityPark Chung HeeYun PosunOh Jae-youngByun Young-taeJang I-seokTotal
Votes %Votes %Votes %Votes %Votes %
Seoul 371,627(30.1%)802,052(65.1%)20,634(1.6%)26,728(2.2%)10,537(0.9%)1,231,578
1963 South Korean presidential election
Gyeonggi 384,764(33.1%)661,984(56.9%)54,770(4.7%)34,775(3.0%)27,554(2.4%)1,163,847
1963 South Korean presidential election
Gangwon 296,711(40.0%)368,092(49.1%)35,568(4.7%)24,924(3.3%)24,528(3.3%)749,823
1963 South Korean presidential election
Chungnam 405,077(40.8%)490,663(49.4%)47,364(4.8%)26,639(2.7%)23,359(2.4%)993,102
1963 South Korean presidential election
Chungbuk 202,789(39.8%)249,397(48.9%)26,911(5.3%)15,699(3.1%)14,971(2.9%)509,767
1963 South Korean presidential election
Jeonnam 765,712(57.2%)480,800(35.9%)51,714(3.9%)17,312(1.3%)22,604(1.7%)1,338,142
1963 South Korean presidential election
Jeonbuk 408,556(49.4%)343,171(41.5%)27,906(3.4%)18,617(2.3%)18,223(2.2%)826,473
1963 South Korean presidential election
Busan 242,779(48.2%)239,038(47.5%)11,214(2.2%)7,106(1.4%)3,419(0.7%)503,601
1963 South Korean presidential election
Gyeongnam 706,079(61.7%)341,971(29.9%)60,645(5.3%)19,323(1.7%)26,014(2.3%)1,144,032
1963 South Korean presidential election
Gyeongbuk 837,124(55.6%)543,392(36.1%)58,079(3.9%)31,113(2.1%)34,622(2.3%)1,504,330
1963 South Korean presidential election
Jeju 81,422(70.0%)26,009(22.3%)3,859(3.3%)2,207(1.9%)3,006(2.6%)116,503
1963 South Korean presidential election

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kim Jong-pil</span> South Korean politician (1926–2018)

Kim Jong-pil, also known colloquially as JP, was a South Korean politician and the founder/first director of the Korean Central Intelligence Agency. He served as Prime Minister twice, from 1971 to 1975 during the presidency of Park Chung Hee (1961–1979) and from 1998 to 2000 during the presidency of Kim Dae-jung (1998–2003). He was a nine-term National Assembly member.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yun Po-sun</span> President of South Korea from 1960 to 1962

Yun Po-sun was a South Korean politician and activist who served as the second president of South Korea from 1960 to 1962. He was the only president of the parliamentary Second Republic of Korea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">April Revolution</span> 1960 South Korean protests

The April Revolution, also called the April 19 Revolution or April 19 Movement, were mass protests in South Korea against President Syngman Rhee and the First Republic from April 11 to 26, 1960, which led to Rhee's resignation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Supreme Council for National Reconstruction</span> 1961–1963 ruling military junta of South Korea

The Supreme Council for National Reconstruction (Korean: 국가재건최고회의) was the ruling military junta of South Korea from May 1961 to December 1963.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Second Republic of Korea</span> Government of South Korea from 1960 to 1961

The second Republic of Korea was the government of South Korea from April 1960 to May 1961.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Third Republic of Korea</span> Government of South Korea from 1963 to 1972

The Third Republic of South Korea was the government of South Korea from December 1963 to November 1972. The Third Republic was founded on the dissolution of the Supreme Council for National Reconstruction that overthrew the Second Republic and established a military government in May 1961. Park Chung Hee, the Chairman of the Supreme Council, was elected President of South Korea in the 1963 presidential election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fourth Republic of Korea</span> Government of South Korea from 1972–1981

The fourth Republic of Korea (Korean: 제4공화국) was the government of South Korea from November 1972 to March 1981.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fifth Republic of Korea</span> Government of South Korea from 1981–1988

The fifth Republic of South Korea was the government of South Korea from March 1981 to December 1987.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chang Myon</span> South Korean politician (1899–1966)

Chang Myon was a South Korean statesman, educator, diplomat, journalist and social activist as well as a Roman Catholic youth activist. He was the only prime minister of the parliamentary Second Republic. In addition, during the First Republic he was the fourth and last vice president of South Korea. His art name was Unseok (운석). His English name was John Chang Myon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1987 South Korean presidential election</span>

Presidential elections were held in South Korea on 16 December 1987. 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yun Chi-young</span> South Korean politician (1898–1996)

Yun Chi-Young was a Korean independence activist, journalist, and politician, diplomat of South Korea. He was the first Interior Minister (1948), 2nd Republic of Korea Ambassador to France from 1950 to 1951, 1st, 2nd and 3rd National Assembly of South Korea and 13th Mayor of Seoul from 1963 to 1966. His art name is Dongsan (동산).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1981 South Korean presidential election</span>

Two-stage presidential elections were held in South Korea in February 1981. An electoral college was elected on 11 February, which in turn elected the president on 25 February. They were the last indirect presidential elections controlled by the government of Chun Doo-hwan under the new 1980 constitution. Chun was re-elected with 90% of the electoral college vote.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">May 16 coup</span> 1961 military coup in South Korea

The May 16 military coup d'état was a military coup d'état in South Korea in 1961, organized and carried out by Park Chung Hee and his allies who formed the Military Revolutionary Committee, nominally led by Army Chief of Staff Chang Do-yong after the latter's acquiescence on the day of the coup. The coup rendered powerless the democratically elected government of Prime Minister Chang Myon and President Yun Posun, and ended the Second Republic, installing a reformist military Supreme Council for National Reconstruction effectively led by Park, who took over as chairman after General Chang's arrest in July.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1967 South Korean presidential election</span>

Presidential elections were held in South Korea on 3 May 1967. The result was a victory for Park Chung Hee, who won 51.4% of the vote. Voter turnout was 83.6%.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1971 South Korean presidential election</span>

Presidential elections were held in South Korea on 27 April 1971. The result was a victory for incumbent president Park Chung-hee, who won 53.2% of the vote. Voter turnout was 79.8%. Within a year of his re-election, Park declared martial law and introduced the Yushin Constitution, which vested him with sweeping and near-dictatorial powers.

Indirect presidential elections were held in South Korea on 12 August 1960, which saw the election of Yun Posun as President of the Republic of Korea, a ceremonial political position in the Second Republic. Held after the April Revolution which had forced the resignation of Syngman Rhee, it was the only presidential election to be held during the short era of the Second Republic, as the Republic folded after Park Chung-hee's May Coup the next year. The election was indirect, with a joint session of the House of Commons and Senate, which had been elected in July, acting as the electors. The winning candidate required the assent of two thirds of the members of both houses.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Democratic Party (South Korea)</span> 1967–1980 political party in South Korea

The New Democratic Party was a South Korean opposition party that existed from 1967 to 1980, when it was forcibly dissolved by the ninth amendment of the constitution promulgated by Chun Doo-hwan the same year. It was the main opposition party during the Park Chung-hee dictatorial regime, and especially since 1972, when the Yushin constitution was put into effect.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Democratic Party (South Korea, 1955)</span> 1955–1963 political party in South Korea

The Democratic Party was a political party in South Korea. The party was the first truly organized liberal opposition against Syngman Rhee's conservative Liberal Party, and is considered as the predecessor to the lineage of the South Korean liberal parties.

The Civil Rule Party, sometimes referred to as the Civil Rights Party, was a political party in South Korea. The party was the successor to the Democratic Party, supported by former President Yun Posun, and future Presidents Kim Dae-jung and Kim Young-sam. On May 11, 1965, it merged with the Democratic Party to become the People's Party.

The June 3 resistance movement, also known as 6.3 resistance or the movement against the Korea-Japan negotiations was initiated in June 1964 by students and citizens against the Park Chung Hee administration effort to negotiate the normalization of South Korea and Japan diplomatic relations.

References

  1. Dieter Nohlen, Florian Grotz & Christof Hartmann (2001) Elections in Asia: A data handbook, Volume II, p420 ISBN   0-19-924959-8
  2. Nohlen et al., p464
  3. "Park Declared Winner In Korea" The Miami News, 19 October 1963, p8A
  4. Kim, Byung-Kook (2011). The Park Chung Hee Era. Harvard University Press. pp. 353–354. ISBN   978-0674061064.
  5. 이, 윤섭 (2012-07-31). 박정희 정권의 시작과 종말 1 (in Korean). ebookspub(이북스펍). ISBN   9788997293094.
  6. "신정당(新政黨)". Encyclopedia of Korean Culture (in Korean). Retrieved 2018-04-21.