2017 South Korean presidential election

Last updated
2017 South Korean presidential election
Flag of South Korea.svg
←  2012 9 May 2017 2022  →
Turnout77.23% (Increase2.svg1.39)
  Moon Jae-in, September 2019.jpg Shinzo Abe and Hong Jun-pyo at the Japanese Prime Minister's Office (cropped 2).jpg AhnCheolSoo2022.png
Nominee Moon Jae-in Hong Jun-pyo Ahn Cheol-soo
Party Democratic Liberty Korea People
Popular vote13,423,8007,852,8496,998,342
Percentage41.09%24.04%21.42%
  Yoo Seong-min in Gangneung (Cropped).jpg Sim Sang-jung taking a commemorative photo with the Speaker of the National Assembly.jpg
Nominee Yoo Seung-min Sim Sang-jung
Party Bareun Justice
Popular vote2,208,7712,017,458
Percentage6.76%6.17%
2017 Republic of Korea Presidential Election, Municipal-level divisions.svg
2017 Republic of Korea Presidential Election, Provincial-level divisions.svg
President before election

Hwang Kyo-ahn
Acting
Independent

Elected President

Moon Jae-in
Democratic

Early presidential elections were held in South Korea on 9 May 2017 following the impeachment and removal of Park Geun-hye. [1] The elections were conducted in a single round, on a first-past-the-post basis, and had originally been scheduled for 20 December 2017. However, they were brought forward after the decision of the Constitutional Court on 10 March 2017 to uphold the National Assembly's impeachment of Park. Following procedures set out in the Constitution of South Korea, Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn succeeded Park as the acting president. After Park was removed from office by the Constitutional Court's ruling, acting president Hwang announced he would not run for a term in his own right. [2] [3] [4]

Contents

Opinion polling before April consistently placed the Democratic Party's candidate, Moon Jae-in, runner-up in the 2012 election, as the front-runner. Second place in the opinion polls was initially held by former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who declined to run in February, followed by Ahn Hee-jung, whilst he lost the Democratic primaries to Moon. Support for People Party founder Ahn Cheol-soo then surged, threatening Moon's lead in the polls throughout early April, before descending to approximately equal that of Liberty Korea Party's candidate, Hong Jun-pyo, in final polls.

Moon won the election with 41 percent of the vote, defeating his nearest opponent, Hong, by a nearly 2-to-1 margin. Under the Constitution of South Korea, if a president dies, resigns, or is removed by impeachment, a new election must take place within 60 days. As a result, unlike previous presidential elections, president-elect Moon took office immediately upon the confirmation of the result by the National Election Commission, with the inauguration at the National Assembly on the same day.

Background

Park Geun-hye of the conservative Saenuri Party (renamed just prior to the election in February 2017 as the Liberty Korea Party) won the previous presidential election in 2012, succeeding Lee Myung-bak of the same party.

The Saenuri Party lost the parliamentary election in April 2016, with opposition parties including liberal Democratic Party and People Party winning a majority in the National Assembly. Commentators described the result as leaving Park a lame duck president, as South Korean presidents are barred from reelection. [5] [6] [7] and the Nikkei Asian Review noted that, in the wake of her "crushing defeat", "rivals sense a prime opportunity to complete the power shift in the December 2017 presidential vote". [5] The Korea Times stated: "The drama of deals and power struggles for next year's election has already begun." [8]

Impeachment of President Park Geun-hye

On 9 December 2016, President Park was impeached by the National Assembly by a vote of 234 for and 56 against (with seven invalid votes and two abstentions) after her implication in the 2016 South Korean political scandal. The Constitutional Court reviewed the motion of impeachment. Per the Constitution, Park's powers were suspended until the Constitutional Court could review the case, and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn became acting president.

The Constitutional Court had 180 days to decide whether to uphold the impeachment. On 10 March 2017, Park was formally removed from office, with a unanimous ruling by all eight of the Constitutional Court's justices supporting her impeachment. A presidential election would have to be held within 60 days. In the interim, Prime Minister Hwang served out the remainder of the 18th term until election day.[ citation needed ]

The presidential election had previously been scheduled for 20 December, with Park barred from running due to the constitutional ban on any sort of presidential reelection. However, with Park's removal from office, the elections were brought forward to 9 May in order to ensure that a new president would be able to take office within 60 days of Park's removal, as required by the Constitution.

Registered candidates

Campaign posters for the 15 candidates South Korea 2017 Presidential Election Posters.jpg
Campaign posters for the 15 candidates

The six parties represented in the National Assembly are the social liberal Democratic Party, the conservative Liberty Korea Party, the centrist People Party, the center-right Bareun Party, the progressive Justice Party, and pro-Park Geun-hye conservative Saenuri Party.

Ballot numbers for party candidates were given according to the candidate's party seat distribution in the National Assembly. Ballot numbers for independent and minor party candidates were determined through a random lottery by the National Election Commission.

A record number of 15 candidates registered, out of which two withdrew before election day.

1234567891011 (withdrew)1213 (withdrew)1415
Moon
Jae-in 		Hong
Jun-pyo 		Ahn
Cheol-soo 		Yoo
Seung-min 		Sim
Sang-jung 		Cho
Won-jin 		Oh
Young-guk		 Chang
Sŏng-min 		Lee
Jae-oh 		Kim Seon-dong Nam
Jae-jun		Lee
Kyung-hee		Kim
Jung-son		Yoon
Hong-sik		Kim
Min-chan
  Democratic   Liberty Korea   People's   Bareun   Justice   Saenuri   Economic Patriots   Grand National United   Evergreen Korea   People's United   United Korea   Korean Nationalist   Future Korea Peninsula   Hongik  Independent

Nominations

Democratic Party

Candidate

Democratic Party 2015 Logo of the Democratic Party of Korea ver. Sky blue+Blue.svg
Democratic Party
Democratic Party candidate
Moon Jae-in
Moon Jae-in, September 2019.jpg
Leader of the
Democratic Party
(2015–2016)

Primary

Candidates were determined by an open primary of citizens who registered as a voter between February 15 to March 9, and March 12 to March 21. Overall, 2,144,840 people registered as a primary voter, making the 2017 primary the largest in Korean history. [9] [10]

The primary was conducted from March 22 to April 3, with the voting base divided by four regions: Honam, Yeongnam, Hoseo and Seoul Capital Area, Gangwon Province, and Jeju Province as a single region. 71.6% of the registered voters voted in the primary, putting the vote total at 1,642,640. [10] [11]

Candidates were:

Polling for the Democratic primary
Polling firm/LinkFieldwork dateSample
size		 Lee Jae-myung Moon Jae-in Ahn Hee-jung Kim Boo-kyum Park Won-soon Kim Jong-in Choi Sung
Democratic Democratic Democratic Democratic Democratic Democratic Democratic
Realmeter [ permanent dead link ‍]17.03.1037421.9%52.7%22.5%–––0.4%
R&Search Archived 12 June 2017 at the Wayback Machine 17.02.27–17.02.281,11115.5%38.0%29.8%–––0.2%
Korea Research 17.02.05–17.02.062,0168.8%36.9%26.2%2.4%–––
Realmeter 17.02.0152813.9%31.4%23.7%4.1%–3.7%0.5%
Realmeter [ permanent dead link ‍]17.01.16–17.01.171,00413.5%32.8%10.8%5.6%5.3%5%1.1%

Results

CandidatePlaceVotesPercentage
Moon Jae-in Nominated936,41957.0%
Ahn Hee-jung 2nd353,63121.5%
Lee Jae-myung 3rd347,64721.2%
Choi Sung4th4,9430.3%
1,642,677100%

Liberty Korea Party

Candidate

Liberty Korea Party Logo of the Liberty Korea Party.svg
Liberty Korea Party
Liberty Korea Party candidate
Hong Jun-pyo
Shinzo Abe and Hong Jun-pyo at the Japanese Prime Minister's Office (cropped).jpg
Governor of
South Gyeongsang Province
(2012–2017)

Primary

Candidate was determined by a combination of opinion polls, conducted between March 30 to March 31 (50%), and the votes cast by the delegates at the party convention held on March 31 (50%). Candidates were:

Results

CandidatePlaceOpinion PollsDelegate VotesAggregated Result
Hong Jun-pyo Nominated46.7%62.9%54.15%
Kim Jin-tae2nd17.5%21.1%19.30%
Lee In-je 3rd24.6%5.1%14.85%
Kim Kwan-yong 4th11.2%12.2%11.70%
100%100%100%

People's Party

Candidate

People Party (South Korea, 2016) Logo of the people's party (south korea).svg
People Party (South Korea, 2016)
People's Party candidate
Ahn Cheol-soo
Ahn Cheol-Soo.jpg
Leader of the
People Party
(2016)

Primary

Candidate was chosen by an open primary (80%) and an opinion poll conducted between April 4 and 5 (20%). The primary was conducted through March 25 to April 4, with 7 regional primaries being held. Ahn Cheol-soo was declared winner of the primary on April 4. [18] The candidate were:

Results

CandidatePlaceVotesPercentage
Ahn Cheol-soo Nominated133,92772.71%
Sohn Hak-kyu 2nd35,69619.38%
Park Joo-seon3rd14,5616.92%
184,768100%

Bareun Party

Candidate

Bareun Party logo.svg
Bareun Party candidate
Yoo Seong-min
Yoo Seong-min in Gangneung (Cropped).jpg
Member of the
National Assembly
(2005– )

Primary

Candidate was determined by a combination of votes from an evaluation commission based on 4 debates, held in different region of the country (40%), votes from the party members (30%), and public opinion polls (30%). Candidates were:

Yoo Seong-min was nominated as the candidate of Baerun Party on March 28. [21]

Results

CandidatePlaceVotesPercentage
Yoo Seung-min Nominated36,59362.9%
Nam Kyung-pil 2nd21,62537.1%
58,218100%

Justice Party

Candidate

Justice Party (South Korea) Jeongeuidang logo.svg
Justice Party (South Korea)
Justice Party candidate
Sim Sang-jung
Sim Sang-jung taking a commemorative photo with the Speaker of the National Assembly.jpg
Leader of the
Justice Party
(2015– )

Primary

Candidates were determined by a closed voting of the party members. Candidates were:

  • Sim Sang-jung, Chairperson of the Justice Party (2015–present), member of the National Assembly for Goyang (2004– 2008, 2012–present) [22]
  • Kang Sang-goo, vice president of the Justice Party education institute

Sim Sang-jung was nominated as the candidate of the Justice Party on February 16. [23]

Results

CandidatePlaceVotesPercentage
Sim Sang-jung Nominated8,20980.7%
Kang Sang-goo2nd1,96219.3%
10,239100%

Other Nominations

Notable non-candidates

Campaign

Official campaign

The official campaign begun on April 17 and ended on midnight of May 8. [30]

Debates

South Korean Presidential Election, 2017
DateOrganizersModerators P  Present  I  Invitee  NI  Non-invitee  A  Absent inviteeNotes
Sim Sang-jung Moon Jae-in Ahn Cheol-soo Yoo Seung-min Hong Jun-pyo
14 April
10:00 KST		 SBS
Journalists Association of Korea		Kim Sung-joonPPPPP [31] [32] [33] [34]
19 April
22:00 KST		 KBS Park Young-hwanPPPPP [34]
23 April
20:00 KST		 NEC Kim Jin-sukPPPPP [34]
25 April
21:00 KST		 JTBC
The Korean Political Science Association		 Sohn Suk-hee PPPPP [34]
28 April
20:00 KST		 NEC Park Yong-chanPPPPP [34]
2 May
20:00 KST		 NEC Lee Jung-heePPPPP [34]
Candidate viewed as "most convincing" in each debate
DebatePoll source Sim Sang-jung Moon Jae-in Ahn Cheol-soo Yoo Seong-min Hong Jun-pyo Notes
14 April Realmeter Archived 19 April 2017 at the Wayback Machine 12.2%33.7%21.7%11.8%9.6% [35]
JoonAng Ilbo [ permanent dead link ‍]13.1%22.3%16.5%25.0%5.4%
Hankook Research [ permanent dead link ‍]15.1%21.2%16.2%28.1%7.5%
19 April KSOI Archived 24 April 2017 at the Wayback Machine 21.9%15.0%11.1%21.5%6.5%
23 April JoonAng Ilbo Archived 1 May 2017 at the Wayback Machine 22.0%17.4%9.0%23.7%6.7%
Hankook Research 27.2%12.6%5.1%22.1%5.9%
25 April Hankook Research [ permanent dead link ‍]40.6%13.2%6.1%14.4%9.9%
Gallup Korea 30%18%6%14%9%
28 April The Opinion 35.8%13.5%5.9%14.6%11.5%
JoongAng Ilbo 38.1%11.5%4.5%16.6%10.0%
Gallup Korea [ permanent dead link ‍]34.8%14.4%4.4%12.7%13.3%
Research & Research [ permanent dead link ‍]41.8%9.3%4.0%18.4%9.9%
Kantar [ permanent dead link ‍]40.4%11.8%3.9%19.2%11.0%

Opinion polling

Opinion polls throughout 2017 showed Moon Jae-in as the leading candidate. Polls prior to the conclusion of the Democratic primary (which included his rivals to the nomination) had Moon at around 30% support, and polls conducted after he had won the primary showed generally consistent results of around 40% by April.

Polling showed a significant decline in support for Ahn Cheol-soo during April. While at the beginning of the month he was polling close to Moon, and even exceeded him in a few polls, by May his support had dropped to around 20%. This decline coincided with rising support for Hong Jun-pyo. By the time of the polling blackout period began on 3 May, Ahn and Hong were recording similar levels of support.

2017 Korea Presidential Election Opinion Polling (2017-1 to 2017-3).png
Opinion polling January–March 2017, includes persons who did not secure their party's nomination or declined to run
2017 Korea Presidential Election Opinion Polling.png
Opinion polling April–May 2017


Opinion polls in May 2017
Polling firm/LinkFieldwork dateSample
size		 Sim Sang-jung Moon Jae-in Ahn Cheol-soo Yoo Seong-min Hong Jun-pyo
Justice Democratic People Bareun Liberty Korea
17.05.09Election Day
17.05.04- 17.05.05Early Voting
17.05.03- 17.05.09Poll Blackout period
Embrain [ permanent dead link ‍]17.05.022,0587.2%40.6%17.8%4.2%19.6%
Research Plus [ permanent dead link ‍]17.05.01–17.05.021,0115.6%39.7%18.9%4.6%13.7%
Kantar [ permanent dead link ‍]17.05.01–17.05.021,1476.8%38.5%15.7%3.8%16.8%
Hankook Research 17.05.01–17.05.021,00011.2%38.0%21.0%4.0%16.8%
JoWon C&I 17.05.01–17.05.021,0358.7%36.1%22.3%3.6%16.9%
Research & Research 17.05.01–17.05.021,0588.1%40.2%19.9%5.7%17.7%
Gallup Korea 17.05.01–17.05.021,0158%38%20%6%16%
Yeouido Archived 12 September 2019 at the Wayback Machine 17.05.01–17.05.022,1826.4%39.4%20.1%4.5%24.9%
Realmeter 17.05.01–17.05.021,0167.3%42.4%18.6%4.9%18.6%
Hankook Research 17.05.01–17.05.021,0008.4%40.2%19.7%5.1%16.2%
ResearchView [ permanent dead link ‍]17.04.30–17.05.022,0538.0%43.2%21.1%4.8%20.1%
MetriX 17.04.30–17.05.021,5009.1%39.2%21.5%4.3%16.7%
Embrain 17.05.011,0189.0%38.6%22.6%3.7%18.3%
JoWon C&I 17.04.30–17.05.011,0468.7%39.5%23.9%3.5%18.4%
R&Search 17.04.30–17.05.011,9618.7%41.8%19.4%3.9%21.2%
Research & Research 17.04.30–17.05.011,0279.8%39.7%20.2%5.1%16.4%
JoongAng Ilbo 17.04.30–17.05.012,0009.2%39.3%21.8%4.9%16.5%
Gallup Korea 17.04.30–17.05.013,0778.4%37.7%19.1%3.6%14.9%
Opinion polls in April 2017
Polling firm/LinkFieldwork dateSample
size		 Sim Sang-jung Moon Jae-in Ahn Cheol-soo Yoo Seong-min Hong Jun-pyo
Justice Democratic People Bareun Liberty Korea
Research & Research 17.04.29–17.04.301,0048.1%39.4%20.8%4.8%16.2%
Hankook Research 17.04.29–17.04.301,00011.4%38.7%23.4%5.7%14.4%
The Opinion 17.04.29–17.04.301,0006.9%37.3%20.5%4.9%15.8%
STI 17.04.29–17.04.301,0008.2%46.0%19.2%4.8%17.4%
Ace Research 17.04.291,0237.6%41.1%21.5%4.3%20.8%
MetriX 17.04.28–17.04.291,0007.2%39.8%21.0%4.1%15.4%
KSOI Archived 26 September 2018 at the Wayback Machine 17.04.28–17.04.291,0008.6%41.4%22.1%6.3%16.6%
Realmeter 17.04.27–17.04.291,5237.6%42.6%20.9%5.2%16.7%
17.04.28Fifth presidential debate held by NEC
Gallup Korea 17.04.25–17.04.271,0067%40%24%4%12%
ResearchView 17.04.25–17.04.271,4186.8%45.5%23.7%3.9%15.3%
Hankook Research 17.04.25–17.04.262,0007.5%38.5%25.2%4.9%12.3%
Realmeter 17.04.24–17.04.261,5207.5%44.4%22.8%5.4%13.0%
17.04.25Fourth presidential debate held by JTBC
Hankook Research 17.04.24–17.04.251,0008.0%40.4%26.4%5.1%10.8%
R&Search 17.04.23–17.04.251,7724.3%44.3%26.1%4.6%14.8%
MetriX 17.04.23–17.04.241,5004.7%40.3%29.6%3.4%9.7%
JoongAng Ilbo 17.04.23–17.04.242,0005.0%39.8%29.4%4.4%11.7%
JoWon C&I 17.04.22–17.04.241,0103.8%39.4%31.1%4.2%13.9%
17.04.23Third presidential debate held by NEC
Kantar 17.04.21–17.04.221,0303.3%37.5%26.4%2.9%7.6%
KSOI Archived 24 April 2017 at the Wayback Machine 17.04.21–17.04.221,0215.1%42.5%30.4%5.7%8.9%
Research & Research 17.04.21–17.04.221,5144.1%39.1%30.1%3.8%9.5%
ResearchView 17.04.18–17.04.202,0045.0%43.3%31.3%3.8%11.4%
Gallup Korea 17.04.18–17.04.201,0044%41%30%3%9%
17.04.19Second presidential debate held on KBS
Research & Research 17.04.18–17.04.191,0094.7%40.0%30.1%2.5%10.2%
EMBRAIN 17.04.18–17.04.191,0542.8%40.9%34.4%2.7%9.5%
Hankook Research 17.04.18–17.04.191,2003.6%42.0%31.8%3.9%8.5%
Realmeter 17.04.17–17.04.181,0124.2%43.8%32.3%3.2%10.2%
EMBRAIN 17.04.171,0493.5%37.7%34.6%3.4%8.5%
JoWon C&I 17.04.15–17.04.161,0633.2%39.7%32.8%4.7%13.1%
JoongAng Ilbo 17.04.15–17.04.162,0003.7%38.5%37.3%3.9%7.4%
Hankook Research 17.04.15–17.04.161,0003.9%42.6%35.6%2.7%7.3%
Kantar 17.04.14–17.04.151,0392.8%35.8%30.2%2.8%8.4%
KSOI 17.04.14–17.04.151,0152.9%46.9%34.4%3.4%6.8%
Realmeter Archived 19 April 2017 at the Wayback Machine 17.04.141,0114.5%45.4%30.7%3.8%8.9%
17.04.13First presidential debate held on SBS
ResearchView 17.04.12–17.04.131,2533.0%46.0%36.5%2.4%8.8%
Gallup Korea 17.04.11–17.04.131,0103%40%37%3%7%
Hankook Research 17.04.11–17.04.121,0002.7%38.0%38.3%2.1%6.5%
Realmeter 17.04.10–17.04.121,5252.8%44.8%36.5%1.7%8.1%
R&Search 17.04.09–17.04.111,9973.6%42.3%37.0%2.0%9.1%
JoWon C&I 17.04.08–17.04.101,0463.5%40.6%34.4%2.9%8.7%
Realmeter Archived 14 April 2017 at the Wayback Machine 17.04.08–17.04.091,0184.2%41.1%34.8%2.2%8.6%
Korea Research Center 17.04.08–17.04.092,0112.8%32.7%36.8%1.5%6.5%
Realmeter 17.04.07–17.04.082,2443.3%42.6%37.2%2.4%8.4%
Hankook Research 17.04.07–17.04.081,0003.6%37.7%37.0%3.0%6.7%
Research & Research 17.04.07–17.04.081,5003.2%35.2%34.5%2.8%7.4%
KSOI Archived 9 April 2017 at the Wayback Machine 17.04.07–17.04.081,0072.9%39.6%35.6%2.7%5.8%
Kantar 17.04.07–17.04.082,3002.3%32.2%34.4%1.9%5.7%
Research Plus 17.04.07–17.04.081,0232.0%37.7%37.7%2.1%6.6%
Gallup Korea 17.04.04–17.04.061,0053%38%35%4%7%
ResearchView 17.04.04–17.04.061,0122.2%42.4%35.1%2.5%10.3%
Realmeter 17.04.051,0082.5%41.3%34.5%3.0%9.2%
Surveymob 17.04.04–17.04.051,0482.74%34.83%28.91%6.95%8.09%
JoongAng Ilbo 17.04.04–17.04.051,5002.1%38.4%34.9%2.7%9.6%
EMBRAIN 17.04.041,0423.5%38.2%33.2%2.7%10.3%
Hankook Research 17.04.041,0003.7%39.1%31.8%3.8%8.6%
R&Search 17.04.03–17.04.041,7083.8%40.8%30.9%2.8%12.6%
Opinion polls in March 2017
Polling firm/LinkFieldwork dateSample
size		 Sim Sang-jung Lee Jae-myung Moon Jae-in Ahn Hee-jung Ahn Cheol-soo Sohn Hak-kyu Yoo Seong-min Nam Kyung-pil Hwang Kyo-ahn Hong Jun-pyo
Justice Democratic Democratic Democratic People People Bareun Bareun Independent Liberty
Realmeter [ permanent dead link ‍]17.03.27- 17.03.291,5253.4%9.5%35.2%12.0%17.4%2.4%2.6%––7.7%
R&Search [ permanent dead link ‍]17.03.27- 17.03.281,0802.6%11.2%33.0%12.6%16.6%0.6%1.4%0.7%–7.8%
Realmeter [ permanent dead link ‍]17.03.20- 17.03.242,5532.9%10.2%34.4%17.1%12.6%2.2%2.2%1.0%–9.5%
Gallup Korea [ permanent dead link ‍]17.03.21- 17.03.231,0072%8%31%17%10%1%1%––6%
R&Search [ permanent dead link ‍]17.03.19- 17.03.211,5892.0%9.4%33.2%17.5%11.2%1.2%2.4%0.6%–7.7%
Realmeter [ permanent dead link ‍]17.03.151,0154.1%10.3%37.1%16.8%12.0%1.8%4.8%1.8%–7.1%
Hankook Research [ permanent dead link ‍]17.03.141,0001.1%8.9%30.7%13.3%8.9%0.9%1.4%0.7%9.6%2.2%
Realmeter [ permanent dead link ‍]17.03.101,0083.3%9.7%36.0%14.5%11.3%2.6%2.4%1.0%10.1%2.4%
17.03.10The Constitutional Court upholds the impeachment of President Park Geun-hye
Hankook Research [ permanent dead link ‍]17.03.06–17.03.071,0001.3%8.4%30.7%13.7%7.6%1.2%1.2%0.6%11.1%1.8%
Realmeter [ permanent dead link ‍]17.02.27–17.03.032,0251.7%8.9%36.4%12.6%10.8%2.9%2.8%1.3%14.9%3.8%
Opinion polls in January–February 2017
Polling firm/LinkFieldwork dateSample
size		 Sim Sang-jung Lee Jae-myung Moon Jae-in Ahn Hee-jung Ahn Cheol-soo Sohn Hak-kyu Yoo Seong-min Nam Kyung-pil Ban Ki-moon Hwang Kyo-ahn Hong Jun-pyo
Justice Democratic Democratic Democratic People People Bareun Bareun Independent Independent Liberty
R&Search Archived 12 June 2017 at the Wayback Machine 17.02.27–17.02.281,1110.9%9.8%37.6%15.5%11.1%1.1%1.8%1.2%–12.5%1.4%
Hankook Research [ permanent dead link ‍]17.02.24–17.02.251,0001.1%10.1%30.9%15.8%7.8%0.8%1.6%0.1%–10.3%1.6%
Gallup Korea [ permanent dead link ‍]17.02.21–17.02.231,006–8%32%21%8%–2%––8%–
Realmeter [ permanent dead link ‍]17.02.20–17.02.221,5081.1%10.1%32.4%19.2%10.5%1.7%3.3%1.8%–11.6%3.3%
Realmeter [ permanent dead link ‍]17.02.13–17.02.151,5152.5%7.0%32.7%19.3%8.6%2.8%3.9%1.3%–16.5%1.3%
Realmeter [ permanent dead link ‍]17.02.06–17.02.081,5082.6%8.2%33.2%15.7%9.1%3.1%3.5%1.6%–15.9%1.4%
Hankook Research [ permanent dead link ‍]17.02.05–17.02.062,0160.7%6.3%29.8%14.2%6.3%1.1%3.2%0.6%–11.2%–
Gallup Korea [ permanent dead link ‍]17.02.01–17.02.021,0030.6%7%32%10%7%0.5%3%–8%9%–
Realmeter [ permanent dead link ‍]17.02.011,0091.8%9.9%26.1%11.1%9.3%2.7%4.3%2%–12.1%1.4%
Realmeter [ permanent dead link ‍]17.01.23–17.01.241,0041.0%9.5%32.8%6.4%7.9%2.0%2.4%0.9%15.4%7.4%–
Realmeter [ permanent dead link ‍]17.01.16–17.01.181,5071.9%9%28.1%4%7.4%1.8%2.2%1.2%21.8%4%0.7%
Hankook Research [ permanent dead link ‍]17.01.15–17.01.161,000–9.5%31.4%3.9%4.8%1.3%1.2%0.3%20%––
Gallup Korea [ permanent dead link ‍]17.01.10–17.01.121,007–12%31%6%7%2%3%–20%5%–
R&Search [ permanent dead link ‍]17.01.01–17.01.021,153–10%32.2%3.9%5.9%3.1%2.1%0.7%21.3%7.2%–
Opinion polls in 2016
DatePolling firmBan Ki-Moon
(Nonpartisan)		Moon Jae-in
(Minjoo)		Ahn Cheol-so
(People's)		Kim Moo-sung
(Saenuri)		Undecided/
Refused		Lead
14–15 Nov 2016 Realmeter 31.5%32.7%22.8%13%1.2
37.6%46.2%16.2%8.6
37.2%39.9%22.9%2.7
19–20 Sep 2016 Realmeter 38.5%30.6%18.0%12.9%7.9
46.7%38.4%14.9%8.3
46.3%32.5%21.2%13.8
13–14 Jun 2016 Realmeter 36.5%34.9%19.0%9.6%1.6
44.2%44.9%10.9%0.7
40.9%33.7%25.4%7.2
18–19 Apr 2016 Realmeter 42.3%42.8%14.9%0.5
41.0%32.3%26.7%8.7
14–15 Mar 2016 Realmeter 44.0%45.0%11.0%1.0
37.2%44.2%18.6%7.0
17–19 Feb 2016 Realmeter 44.3%45.0%10.7%0.7
37.7%43.8%18.5%6.1

Exit polls

KBS, MBC, and SBS Terrestrial Broadcasting Exit Survey

CandidateEstimated Percentage
Moon Jae-in41.4%
Hong Jun-pyo23.3%
Ahn Cheol-soo21.8%
Yoo Seung-min7.1%
Sim Sang-jung5.9%

Results

Moon Jae-in of the Democratic Party won the plurality of the votes (41.09% in contrast to 24.04% won by his closest opponent Hong Jun-pyo), thus winning this election. He assumed the office as the President of South Korea immediately upon the confirmation of the results at 8:09 am on 10 May 2017 (Local time) and was inaugurated in the National Assembly at afternoon on the same day. [36]

Moon's 17.1% margin of victory is the largest percentage margin for any liberal candidate since the beginning of free and fair direct elections in 1987.

CandidatePartyVotes%
Moon Jae-in Democratic Party 13,423,80041.09
Hong Joon-pyo Liberty Korea Party 7,852,84924.04
Ahn Cheol-soo People Party 6,998,34221.42
Yoo Seong-min Bareun Party 2,208,7716.76
Sim Sang-jung Justice Party 2,017,4586.17
Cho Won-jin Saenuri Party 42,9490.13
Kim Min-chanIndependent33,9900.10
Kim Sun-dong People's United Party 27,2290.08
Chang Sŏng-min Grand National Unity Party 21,7090.07
Yoon Hong-sikHongik Party18,5430.06
Lee Kyung-heeKorean Nationalist Party11,3550.03
Lee Jae-oh Evergreen Korea Party 9,1400.03
Oh Young-guk Economic Patriots Party 6,0400.02
Total32,672,175100.00
Valid votes32,672,17599.59
Invalid/blank votes135,7330.41
Total votes32,807,908100.00
Registered voters/turnout42,479,71077.23
Source: National Election Commission

By region

Major candidates

Breakdown of votes by region for candidates with at least 1% of the total votes.

Region Moon Jae-in Hong Joon-pyo Ahn Cheol-soo Yoo Seong-min Sim Sang-jung
Votes%Votes%Votes%Votes%Votes%
Seoul 2,781,34542.31,365,28520.81,492,76722.7476,9737.3425,4596.5
Busan 872,12738.7720,48432.0378,90716.8162,4807.2109,3294.9
Daegu 342,62021.8714,20545.4235,75715.0198,45912.674,4404.7
Incheon 747,09041.2379,19120.9428,88823.7118,6916.5129,9257.2
Gwangju 583,84761.114,8821.6287,22230.120,8622.243,7194.6
Daejeon 404,54542.9191,37620.3218,76923.259,8206.363,6696.8
Ulsan 282,79438.1203,60227.5128,52017.360,2898.162,1878.4
Sejong 77,76751.123,21115.232,01021.09,1926.09,3536.1
Gyeonggi 3,319,81242.11,637,34520.81,807,30822.9540,0236.8546,3736.9
Gangwon 324,76834.2284,90930.0206,84021.865,2786.962,3896.6
North Chungcheong 374,80638.6255,50226.3211,45421.857,2825.965,0956.7
South Chungcheong 476,66138.6306,61424.8290,21623.568,5215.683,8686.8
North Jeolla 778,74764.840,2313.3285,46723.830,8022.659,2964.9
South Jeolla 737,92159.930,2212.5378,17930.725,8192.149,5094.0
North Gyeongsang 369,72621.7827,23748.6253,90514.9149,0178.888,0805.2
South Gyeongsang 779,73136.7790,49137.2284,27213.4142,4796.7113,0515.3
Jeju 169,49345.568,06318.377,86120.922,7846.131,7168.5
Total13,423,80041.17,852,84924.06,998,34221.42,208,7716.82,017,4586.2
Source: National Election Commission

Minor candidates

Breakdown of votes by region for candidates with less than 1% of the total votes.

Region Cho
Won-jin 		Kim
Min-chan		Kim
Sun-dong		 Jang
Sung-min 		Yoon
Hong-sik		Lee
Kyung-hee		 Lee
Jae-oh 		Ok
Young-guk
Votes%Votes%Votes%Votes%Votes%Votes%Votes%Votes%
Seoul 9,9870.23,9500.13,4160.13,5540.12,1770.01,2770.01,9380.07890.0
Busan 2,6510.12,1560.19810.01,3160.11,0410.04960.04650.02760.0
Daegu 4,0570.31,5010.18040.15630.09860.14010.03240.02590.0
Incheon 2,6460.11,6810.11,2300.11,6180.16250.05940.04100.03740.0
Gwangju 1520.06140.12,2650.26550.12640.01360.01030.01110.0
Daejeon 1,0690.17580.16110.16200.14060.02560.02340.01680.0
Ulsan 8290.19260.16410.15750.14410.12200.02400.01280.0
Sejong 1530.11350.11260.1880.0760.0500.0420.0340.0
Gyeonggi 10,7780.16,5530.16,1390.15,0580.12,8830.02,2130.01,8580.01,3020.0
Gangwon 1,4260.11,3500.18760.17870.18700.15700.13210.02520.0
North Chungcheong 1,1530.11,3470.18400.17220.19430.16860.14210.03080.0
South Chungcheong 1,4150.11,6620.11,2600.11,1480.11,0250.18030.14290.03240.0
North Jeolla 4510.02,0700.11,1860.11,0800.15890.04990.03450.02400.0
South Jeolla 4540.02,9550.23,8170.31,3190.17820.18390.13150.02720.0
North Gyeongsang 3,0530.22,4990.11,3080.11,0540.12,9420.21,0680.18610.14760.0
South Gyeongsang 2,2900.13,2670.21,3940.11,2400.12,2340.11,0110.07210.04580.0
Jeju 3850.15560.13350.13120.12890.12360.11130.02690.1
Total42,9490.133,9900.127,2290.121,7090.118,5430.111,3550.09,1400.06,0400.0
Source: National Election Commission

Maps

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Park Geun-hye</span> President of South Korea from 2013 to 2017

Park Geun-hye is a South Korean politician who served as the 11th president of South Korea from 2013 to 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ahn Cheol-soo</span> South Korean politician (born 1962)

Ahn Cheol-soo is a South Korean politician, medical doctor, businessperson, and software entrepreneur. He is a member of the National Assembly as part of the conservative People Power Party. Prior to his career in politics, Ahn founded AhnLab, Inc., an antivirus software company, in 1995. He was chairman of the board and Chief Learning Officer of AhnLab until September 2012, and remains the company's largest stakeholder. Prior to entering politics, Ahn served as dean of the Graduate School of Convergence Science and Technology at Seoul National University until September 2012. Ahn was considered a left-wing politician when he entered politics in 2012, then considered a centrist politician by his 2017 presidential bid, and is now considered a right-wing politician.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2012 South Korean presidential election</span>

Presidential elections were held in South Korea on 19 December 2012. They were the sixth presidential elections since democratization and the establishment of the Sixth Republic, and were held under a first-past-the-post system, in which there was a single round of voting and the candidate receiving the highest number of votes was elected. Under the South Korean constitution, a president is restricted to a single five-year term in office. The term of the then incumbent president Lee Myung-bak ended on 24 February 2013. According to the Korea Times, 30.7 million people voted with turnout at 75.8%. Park Geun-hye of the Saenuri party was elected the first female South Korean president with 51.6% of the vote opposed to 48.0% for her opponent Moon Jae-in. Park's share of the vote was the highest won by any candidate since the beginning of free and fair direct elections in 1987 and the first such election in which any candidate won a majority. Moreover, as of the 2022 election, this is the latest South Korean presidential election in which the winning candidate won an absolute majority of the vote.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hong Joon-pyo</span> South Korean politician (born 1953)

Hong Joon-pyo, also spelled as Hong Jun-pyo, is a South Korean politician and former prosecutor who is the current Mayor of Daegu. He previously served as the governor of South Gyeongsang Province, a member of the National Assembly for five terms, and the party leader of the conservative Grand National Party in 2011 and its successor incarnation the Liberty Korea Party from 2017 to 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moon Jae-in</span> President of South Korea from 2017 to 2022

Moon Jae-in is a South Korean politician who served as the 12th president of South Korea from 2017 to 2022. Before his presidency, he served as Senior Secretary for Civil Affairs and Chief of Staff to President Roh Moo-hyun, Member of the National Assembly, and Leader of the Democratic Party of Korea.

This article is a list of opinion polls that have been taken for the 2012 South Korean presidential election. It is divided into polls for the presidential election itself, and polls for the primaries of the two main parties, Saenuri and the Democratic United Party. Two-way polls are used to demonstrate the popularity of one candidate with respect to the other, but the election itself will have no run-off round and will be held under a system of First Past the Post. The polls are ordered by date, with the newest at the top.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2016 South Korean legislative election</span>

Legislative elections were held in South Korea on 13 April 2016. All 300 members of the National Assembly were elected, 253 from first-past-the-post constituencies and 47 from proportional party lists. The election was an upset victory for the liberal Democratic Party, which defied opinion polling by winning a plurality of seats in the election and defeating the ruling conservative Saenuri Party by one seat. In votes for party lists, however, Democratic Party came third, behind the Saenuri Party in first place and the new People Party in second.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Democratic Party (South Korea, 2015)</span> Political party in South Korea

The Democratic Party, formerly known as the New Politics Alliance for Democracy, is a social liberal political party in South Korea. The DPK and its rival, the People Power Party (PPP), form the two major political parties of South Korea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kim Chong-in</span> South Korean economist and politician (born 1940)

Kim Chong-in is a South Korean economist and politician. He was the interim chairman of the Minjoo Party of Korea from January to August 2016 and a member-elect of the National Assembly on the party's proportional list since the April 2016 parliamentary election. He was previously a member of the Assembly from 1981 to 1988, 1992 to 1994, and 2004 to 2008, each time elected by party list. He served as Minister of Health and Social Affairs under President Roh Tae-woo from 1989 to 1990. From May 2020 until April 2021, he was the leader of the main opposition People Power Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hwang Kyo-ahn</span> South Korean politician and prosecutor (born 1957)

Hwang Kyo-ahn is a South Korean politician and prosecutor who served as acting president of South Korea from 9 December 2016 to 10 May 2017 and the 44th prime minister of South Korea from 18 June 2015 to 11 May 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Impeachment of Park Geun-hye</span> 2016 South Korean president impeachment

On 9 December 2016, Park Geun-hye, the president of South Korea, was impeached as the culmination of a political scandal involving interventions to the presidency from her aide, Choi Soon-sil. 234 members of the 300-member National Assembly voted to impeach and temporarily suspend Park's presidential powers and duties. This exceeded the required two-thirds threshold in the National Assembly and, although the vote was by secret ballot, the results indicated that more than half of the 128 lawmakers in Park's party Saenuri had supported her impeachment. Thus, Hwang Kyo-ahn, then Prime Minister of South Korea, became acting president while the Constitutional Court of Korea was due to determine whether to accept the impeachment. The court upheld the impeachment in a unanimous 8–0 decision on 10 March 2017, removing Park from office. The regularly scheduled presidential election was advanced to 9 May 2017, and Moon Jae-in, former leader of the Democratic Party, was elected as Park's permanent successor.

Saenuri Party is a conservative political party in South Korea, founded by supporters of Park Geun-hye. It opposed her impeachment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Park Joo-sun</span> South Korean politician

Park Joo-sun is a South Korean politician in Bareunmirae Party who was the president of the party along with Yoo Seong-min, and the Second Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">People Power Party (South Korea)</span> Conservative political party in South Korea

The People Power Party, formerly known as the United Future Party, is a conservative and right-wing political party in South Korea. It controls the South Korean presidency and is the second-largest party in the National Assembly. The PPP, along with its historic rival, the Democratic Party, make up the two largest political parties in South Korea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 South Korean presidential election</span>

Presidential elections were held in South Korea on 9 March 2022. Under the South Korean constitution, presidents are restricted to a single five-year term, meaning that incumbent president Moon Jae-in was ineligible to run for a second term. Opposition candidate Yoon Suk Yeol of the People Power Party won the election, defeating candidate Lee Jae-myung of the incumbent Democratic Party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeon Hae-cheol</span> South Korean lawyer and politician

Jeon Hae-cheol is a South Korean lawyer and politician who served as the Minister of the Interior and Safety from 2020 to 2022. He formerly served as the Senior Secretary to the President for Civil Affairs from 2006 to 2007, under the then President Roh Moo-hyun.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2021 South Korean by-elections</span>

The 2021 South Korean by-elections were held in South Korea on 7 April 2021. The National Election Commission announced on 2 March 2021, that the by-elections would be held for 21 public offices or electoral districts, including 2 Metropolitan mayors, 2 Municipal mayors, 8 Metropolitan Council constituencies, and 9 Municipal Council constituencies. Candidate registration ran from 18 to 19 March, and the list of candidates was confirmed on 26 March.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Woo Sang-ho (politician)</span> South Korean politician

Woo Sang-ho is a South Korean activist and politician who served as the interim President of the Democratic Party from 7 June 2022 to 29 August 2022. He previously served as the parliamentary leader of the party from 2016 to 2017. He has been the Member of the National Assembly for Seodaemun A constituency from 2004 to 2008, and since 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chung Woo-taik</span> South Korean politician (born 1953)

Chung Woo-taik is a South Korean politician who served as the former Governor of North Chungcheong from 2006 to 2010. He is currently the Member of the National Assembly for Sangdang since 2022.

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

Presidential elections were scheduled to be held in South Korea in 2027; however, due to the impeachment of Yoon Suk Yeol on 14 December 2024, an early election is likely to be held in 2025. In the event of the president's resignation, or removal by the Constitutional Court as a result of the impeachment, an early presidential election is required to be held within 60 days.

References

  1. ↑ McCurry, Justin (9 March 2017). "South Korean president Park Geun-hye forced from office by constitutional court". The Guardian . Retrieved 10 March 2017.
  2. 1 2 "황교안 대선 불출마 선언" (in Korean). Kyunghyang Shinmun. 15 March 2017. Retrieved 15 March 2017.
  3. ↑ "PM not to run for presidency". The Korea Times . 15 March 2017. Retrieved 17 May 2017.
  4. ↑ Sang-hun, Choe (15 March 2017). "South Korea to Elect New President in May, Government Says". The New York Times . ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 17 May 2017.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Minegishi, Hiroshi (15 April 2016). "South Korean politicians jostle to succeed lamest of ducks". Nikkei Asian Review . Retrieved 17 April 2016.
  6. ↑ "Vote defeat for South Korea's Park raises 'lame duck' prospect". Reuters. 14 April 2016. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
  7. ↑ "Conservative rout leaves South Korea's Park Geun-hye a lame duck". The Australian . 14 April 2016. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
  8. 1 2 3 4 Jun, Ji-hye (13 April 2016). "Attention to shift to 2017 presidential race". The Korea Times . Retrieved 17 April 2016.
  9. ↑ "민주당 대선 후보 경선인단 200만 명 돌파". YTN . Naver . Retrieved 3 April 2017.
  10. 1 2 "민주당 선거인단 214만명 마감…"정당사 전무후무한 일"". MoneyToday. Naver . Retrieved 3 April 2017.
  11. ↑ "[종합]민주당 최종 누적집계…文 57%> 安 21.5%> 李 21.2%". Newsis . Naver . Retrieved 3 April 2017.
  12. 1 2 3 "Split voting could boost fate of People's Party". Korea JoongAng Daily . 12 April 2016. Retrieved 24 April 2016.
  13. ↑ "안희정, 대선 예비후보 등록…"미완의 역사 완성하겠다"" (in Korean). Naver News. 2 February 2017. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
  14. ↑ 경기일보(Kyeonggi Daily News) (26 July 2016). "기사본문-최성 고양시장, 더민주 예비 후보 등록 대선 레이스 돌입 – 수도권 종합일간지 경기일보, 경기닷컴 – 정치, 경제, 사회, 문화, 스포츠, 연예, 포토, 경기TV, 뉴스, 기사 제공". Kyeonggi.com. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
  15. ↑ "이재명, 민주 예비후보 등록…YS·DJ 참배 후 광주行" (in Korean). Naver News. 31 January 2017. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
  16. ↑ "경인일보 : 새누리당 이인제 前의원 "대선 출마"… 네번째 도전". Kyeongin.com. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
  17. ↑ "원유철 대선 출마 선언… 안상수도 출사표 채비" (in Korean). Naver News. 3 February 2017. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
  18. ↑ "손학규·박주선, 安 경선 승리에 축하 "대선승리 위해 함께 하겠다"". EDaily. Naver . Retrieved 5 April 2017.
  19. ↑ 기사입력 2017.02.07 오후 6:26 최종수정 2017.02.07 오후 6:30. "손학규, 국민의당... :: 네이버 뉴스" (in Korean). M.news.naver.com. Retrieved 10 March 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  20. ↑ "유승민, 대선 출마 공식 선언…'재벌 총수·공직자 부정부패 손본다' – 스페셜경제". Speconomy.com. 20 February 2017. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
  21. ↑ "유승민, 바른정당 대선후보로 선출…62.9% 득표(3보)". Yohnhap News Agency. Naver . Retrieved 29 March 2017.
  22. ↑ "심상정 첫 대선공약 "출산휴가 120일로 늘리겠다"" (in Korean). Naver News. 23 January 2017. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
  23. ↑ "심상정 대표 '승리의 V'". Yonhap News Agency . Naver . Retrieved 29 March 2017.
  24. ↑ "김부겸, 대선불출마 선언…"정권교체 밀알될 것"" (in Korean). Naver News. 7 February 2017. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
  25. ↑ "Ban Ki-moon rules out presidential run in South Korea – World – CBC News". Cbc.ca. 1 February 2017. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
  26. ↑ "Ban looms large in S. Korea's opinion polls". The Korea Herald . 29 September 2015. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
  27. ↑ "박원순, 대선 불출마 선언…"국민 마음 사지 못해"" (in Korean). Naver News. 26 January 2017. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
  28. ↑ "오세훈 전 서울시장 "대선 불출마하겠다"" (in Korean). Naver News. 13 January 2017. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
  29. ↑ "김무성 대선 불출마 선언…"보수의 썩은 환부 도려내겠다"" (in Korean). Naver News. 24 November 2016. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
  30. ↑ "공식 선거전 내일 시작…후보 15명 역대 최다". KBS. Naver . Retrieved 16 April 2017.
  31. ↑ The debate was recorded and broadcast as live at 10 pm KST on the same day on SBS.
  32. ↑ "기자협회, 대선후보 첫 합동토론회 - 한국기자협회".
  33. ↑ "'TV토론 승자=차기 대통령'…TV토론, 선거 막판 변수로". News 1. Retrieved 14 April 2017– via Naver.
  34. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "대선 토론회 방송, 오늘부터 시작…일정과 주제는?". Maeil Broadcasting Network . Retrieved 14 April 2017– via Naver.
  35. ↑ "[리얼미터] TV토론 후 '문재인45% >안철수31% >홍준표9%'". Polinews. 15 April 2017. Retrieved 15 April 2017.
  36. ↑ "South Korea's Moon Jae-in sworn in vowing to address North". BBC News . 10 May 2017. Retrieved 17 May 2017.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.