1980 South Korean presidential election

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1980 South Korean presidential election
Flag of South Korea (1949-1984).svg
  1979 27 August 1980 1981  

2,540 members of the National Conference for Unification
1,271 votes needed to win
  Chun Doo-hwan 1983 (cropped).JPEG
Nominee Chun Doo-hwan
Party Independent
Electoral vote2,524

1980 South Korean election.svg
Votes of the National Conference for Unification
  Chun Doo-hwan: 2524
  Invalid/blank: 1
  Did not vote: 15

President before election

Park Choong-hoon (acting)
Independent

Elected President

Chun Doo-hwan
Independent

Indirect presidential elections were held in South Korea on 27 August 1980 to fill the vacancy caused by President Choi Kyu-hah's resignation.

Contents

Under the 1972 Yushin Constitution, the president was elected by the National Conference for Unification, whose 2,540 members had been elected for a six-year term of office in December 1978. General Chun Doo-hwan was the only candidate, and was elected unopposed. [1]

Chun was to serve for the remainder of the 1978–1984 term of longtime president Park Chung-hee, who had died in 1979 and been replaced by Choi. However, Chun subsequently decided to stage a coup and end the Fourth Republic and draft a new constitution, which was promulgated in October 1980 after being approved in a referendum. The first presidential election under the new constitution was held in February 1981, and Chun was elected by an overwhelming majority under controversial circumstances. [2]

Background

After the assassination of the military dictator President Park Chung-hee in October 1979, Prime Minister Choi Kyu-hah was elected president in the December 1979 elections. However, General Chun Doo-hwan staged the Coup d'état of December Twelfth and effectively took control of the government, making President Choi a figurehead. However, on 16 August 1980, following the Coup d'état of May Seventeenth, Chun removed Choi from office so he could become president himself.

Results

In order to be elected, a candidate had to receive the vote of over 50% of the incumbent members of the National Conference for Unification. With 2,540 delegates present, Chun had to receive at least 1,271 votes to be elected. He received 2,524 votes, 99.37% of the total possible.

CandidatePartyVotes%
Chun Doo-hwan Independent2,524100.00
Total2,524100.00
Valid votes2,52499.96
Invalid/blank votes10.04
Total votes2,525100.00
Registered voters/turnout2,54099.41

Electors per region

RegionEligible electorsVacanciesTotal
Seoul 3883391
Busan 1450145
Gyeonggi 3154319
Gangwon 1483151
North Chungcheong 1292131
South Chungcheong 2296235
North Jeolla 2021203
South Jeolla 3084312
North Gyeongsang 36712379
South Gyeongsang 2828290
Jeju 27027
Total2,540432,583

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References

  1. Croissant, Aurel. "Electoral Politics in South Korea" (PDF). Friedrich Ebert Foundation. p. 266.
  2. "South Korea". HISTORY. Retrieved 2019-03-29.