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.
He then revised the Constitution on 27 October 1980. The revised constitution was slightly less authoritarian than its predecessor. Among other things,it changed the presidential election system. Although it was still an indirect election by the electoral college,opposition candidates were now allowed to enter. The president was limited to a single seven-year term without the possibility of re-election,and any change allowing re-election was blocked from taking effect for the president in office at the time of amendment. However,this had no effect on the political landscape. Chun had jailed most prominent opposition politicians,including former NDP chairman Kim Young-sam,1971NDP presidential nominee Kim Dae-jung,and former prime ministerKim Jong-pil,all three of whom would later face Chun's handpicked successor,Roh Tae-Woo,in the 1987.
The Civil Rights Party National Convention was held on 23 January at the Cheondo Hall;Kim Eui-taek,a former four-term lawmaker from South Jeolla was chosen as the party's candidate.
Other political parties including the Democratic Socialist Party,the Socialist Party and the New Politics Party announced they would not be participating in the elections as they were not capable of finding viable candidates for president or the electoral college.[2][3]
According to official figures,78.1% of registered voters voted,and gave Chun's DJP a supermajority of 3,667 seats in the electoral college,69.5 percent of the total. The DJP won three times as many seats as independent candidates,and nine times as many seats as the largest opposition party,the Democratic Korea Party.
In order to be elected,a candidate had to receive the vote of over 50% of the incumbent members of the Electoral College. Of the 5,277 electors who were elected on 11 February and had not been removed from office (one member was removed in Busan),this meant 2,639 votes were needed to win. Sitting presidentChun Doo-hwan was re-elected by a landslide on 25 February with 4,755 votes,90.11% of the total possible. However,the DJP's supermajority in the electoral college meant Chun's election was all but assured.
The term of the newly elected president officially began on the day the electoral votes were cast and counted,25 February. The inauguration ceremony took place on 3 March. This marked the official beginning of the Fifth Republic of Korea,a dictatorial regime that lasted until democratization in 1988.
Notes
1 2 5,278 electors had been elected, but DJP elector Kim Chang-sik of Busan was removed due to eligibility problems.
References
↑ 책갈피 속의 오늘 1981년 민정당, 전두환 총재 추대] Donga, 15 January 2009
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