1978 South Korean presidential election

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1978 South Korean presidential election
Flag of South Korea (1949-1984).svg
  1972 6 July 1978 1979  

2,581 members of the National Conference for Unification
1,291 votes needed to win
  bagjeonghyi daetongryeong gimyeongsam sinmindang congjae jeobgyeon (cropped).jpg
Nominee Park Chung-hee
Party Democratic Republican
Electoral vote2,577

1978 South Korean election.svg
Votes of the National Conference for Unification
  Park Chung-hee: 2577
  Did not vote: 3
  Invalid/Blank: 1

President before election

Park Chung-hee
Democratic Republican

Elected President

Park Chung-hee
Democratic Republican

Presidential elections were held in South Korea on 6 July 1978, the second elections held under the Restoration Constitution, which gave the members of the National Conference for Unification the power to elect the president.

Contents

The National Conference for Unification was elected on 18 May, and the newly sworn-in delegates proceeded to elect the president on 6 July. As in 1972, incumbent President Park Chung-hee was the only candidate. He was duly re-elected with the support of 2,577 of the 2,581 members. [1] Park Chung Hee would continue in office for just over a year before his assassination on 26 October 1979 and the subsequent collapse of the Yushin regime.

National Conference for Unification election

The 2,583 members of the second National Conference for Unification were elected on 18 May 1978, with a voter turnout of 79%.

RegionTurnout%Valid votesDelegates+/–
Seoul 2,754,08667.82,665,140391+88
Busan 942,14877.1919,727145+41
Gyeonggi 1,634,74278.21,593,630319+39
Gangwon 764,85786.9746,432151+6
North Chungcheong 577,87787.0562,148131+4
South Chungcheong 1,068,65883.41,038,174235+4
North Jeolla 905,39484.9876,166203+3
South Jeolla 1,402,83181.51,356,5313120
North Gyeongsang 1,833,99084.41,790,763379+25
South Gyeongsang 1,255,86083.01,223,490290+12
Jeju 178,63386.9173,97727+2
Total13,319,07678.912,946,1782,583+224

Presidential election

By the time of the presidential election, one delegate had resigned and another had died, meaning there were a total of 2,581 delegates at the Conference on the day of the presidential election.

In order to be elected, a candidate had to receive the vote of over 50% of the incumbent members. With 2,581 delegates in office, Park had to receive at least 1,291 votes to be elected. He received 2,577 votes, 99.85% of the total possible.

As there was only one candidate registered, the only ways the delegates could express opposition to Park was by either abstaining or casting invalid ballots. The only delegate who cast a protest vote was Park Seung-guk of Daegu-2 District. [2]

CandidatePartyVotes%
Park Chung-hee Democratic Republican Party 2,577100.00
Total2,577100.00
Valid votes2,57799.96
Invalid/blank votes10.04
Total votes2,578100.00
Registered voters/turnout2,58199.88

By region

Region Park InvalidTurnout%Eligible electorsVacanciesTotal
Seoul 389038999.493910391
Busan 14501451001450145
Gyeonggi 31903191003190319
Gangwon 15101511001510151
North Chungcheong 13101311001310131
South Chungcheong 23402341002341235
North Jeolla 20302031002030203
South Jeolla 31203121003120312
North Gyeongsang 37713781003781379
South Gyeongsang 289028999.662900290
Jeju 2702710027027
Total2,5771257899.882,58122,583

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References

  1. Kleiner, J. (2001) Korea: A Century of Change. World Scientific. p. 164.
  2. "김일 박치기에 온 국민 시름 잊고… '체육관 대통령' 선출 민주주의 시름 겪어". 한국일보 (in Korean). 2015-02-06. Retrieved 2019-03-28.