August 1960 South Korean presidential election

Last updated

August 1960 South Korean presidential election
Flag of South Korea (1949-1984).svg
  March 1960 12 August 1960 1963  

263 members of the National Assembly
176 votes needed to win
  Yun Bo-seon.jpg Kim Chang Sook.jpg
Nominee Yun Posun Kim Chang-sook
Party Democratic Independent
Electoral vote20829

President before election

Paek Nak-chun (acting)
Independent

Elected President

Yun Posun
Democratic

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. [1]

Contents

Background

The Democratic Party, founded in 1955 as a merger of the Democratic Nationalist Party (DNP) and several anti-Rhee administration groups, had won well over two-thirds of the seats in the National Assembly in the July 1960 legislative elections, and was sure to win the presidency.

However, members of the party from the DNP and those from other groups clashed strongly after the Rhee administration fell. As a result, the party was not united on whom to elect for the president. The divisions were so deep that by 4 August, the DNP faction of the Democratic Party officially declared that they would break away to form a new party. [2]

As a result, the two factions of the Democratic Party nominated different presidential candidates; the DNP faction declared they would seek to take both the presidency and the prime minister, while the non-DNP faction said they would only take the prime minister and let the DNP faction have the presidency. This was a move by the non-DNP faction to persuade the DNP faction not to break away.

The leaders of the non-DNP faction met on 11 August in the morning and announced they would nominate Yun Posun for the presidency and Chang Myon as prime minister. Yun was the de facto leader of the DNP faction and was almost certain to be the faction's nominee for the presidency. Chang Myon was the incumbent president of the Democratic Party and de facto leader of the non-DNP faction.

The leaders of the DNP faction met on the evening of the same day and announced they would nominate Yun for the presidency and Kim Do-yeon as prime minister. While Yun and Kim, the two major leaders of the DNP faction, had both expressed interest for the prime ministerial nomination, Yun agreed in the end to settle for the presidency in order to prevent intra-factional division.

Results

In order to be elected, a candidate had to receive at the vote of at least two-thirds of the National Assembly members in office at the time. As there were 263 members in office at the time of the election, 220 in the House of Commons and 43 in the Senate, a candidate had to receive at least 176 votes to be elected.

Yun was elected with 208 votes, having been nominated by both factions of the Democratic Party. His closest competitor was Kim Chang-sook, a former independence activist supported by some of the independent members of the National Assembly, who received 29 votes. [1]

CandidatePartyVotes%
Yun Posun Democratic Party 20882.21
Kim Chang-sook Independent2911.46
Baek Nak-jun Independent31.19
Byeon Yeong-tae Independent31.19
Kim Do-yeon Democratic Party 20.79
Heo Jeong Independent20.79
Kim Pyeung-roh Independent10.40
Kim Shi-hyeon Independent10.40
Na Yeong-gyun Democratic Party 10.40
Bak Sun-cheon Democratic Party 10.40
Yu Ok-woo Democratic Party 10.40
Lee Chul-seung Democratic Party 10.40
Total253100.00
Valid votes25397.68
Invalid/blank votes62.32
Total votes259100.00
Registered voters/turnout26398.48

See also

Related Research Articles

<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 short-lived Second Republic of Korea, and served as little more than a figurehead due to its nature as a parliamentary system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2002 South Korean presidential election</span>

Presidential elections were held in South Korea on 19 December 2002. The result was a victory for Roh Moo-Hyun of the ruling Millennium Democratic Party, who defeated Lee Hoi-chang of the Grand National Party by just over half a million votes.

<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 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">Fifth Republic of Korea</span> Government of South Korea from 1981–1988

The Fifth Republic of Korea was the government of South Korea from February 1981 to February 1988.

<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">1997 South Korean presidential election</span>

Presidential elections were held in South Korea on 18 December 1997. The result was a victory for opposition candidate Kim Dae-jung, who won with 40.3 percent of the vote. When he took office in 1998, it marked the first time in Korean history that the ruling party peacefully transferred power to the opposition party.

Presidential and vice-presidential elections were held in South Korea on 15 March 1960. Shortly after winning reelection to a second term in the 1952 presidential election, Rhee had the legislature pass a constitutional amendment exempting himself from the two-term limit, allowing himself to run for and win a third term in 1956 and in March 1960.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yi Yun-yong</span> South Korean politician

Yi Yun-young was an independence activist, educator, and Methodist minister during the Japanese occupation of Korea. His family clan originated in Danyang, and he was from Yongbyon in Pyonganbuk-do. His art name was Baeksa. During the March 1st Independence Movement, he was arrested for holding a lecture declaring independence and protesting against the Japanese occupation. In 1940, his pastoral qualifications were suspended because he opposed the unification of the churches in Korea and Japan and refused to adapt Sōshi-kaimei. After the Liberation, he participated with Cho Man-sik in the Committee for the Preparation of Korean Independence, founded the Korean Democratic Party, and was active as the party's vice leader. After his escape to the South, he was recommended as acting prime minister. After the establishment of Korea's government, he was named to be the first prime minister, but he was defeated because of the rejection of his confirmation by the Korea Democratic Party. After that, he was named to be the prime minister three more times, but each time he was rejected. Being one of Syngman Rhee's closest allies, he served as Minister without Portfolio and Minister of Social Affairs during the First Republic. He ran for vice president representing the anti-Lee Ki-poong faction but was defeated. After the May 16th Coup, he was Chairman of the Committee for Struggle against the prolongation of Military Government and executive member of the People's Party. He was an aide of Cho Man-sik, then after he defected to the South, he worked as an aide to Syngman Rhee.

<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 (Korean: 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">1963 South Korean presidential election</span>

Presidential elections were held in South Korea on 15 October 1963. 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%.

Presidential and vice- presidential elections were held in South Korea on 20 July 1948, following the Constitutional Assembly elections in May. The president was to be elected by the members of the National Assembly, as instructed by the 1948 Constitution. Of the 198 members of the National Assembly, 196 were present for the vote. A candidate required two-thirds of the votes cast to win. Syngman Rhee was elected with 180 votes, and took over the government to oversee the transfer of power from the United States Army Military Government in Korea.

Events from the year 1960 in South Korea.

<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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 South Korean presidential election</span> Public vote for the Republic of Koreas chief executive

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.

References

  1. 1 2 Korea Affairs Institute. The Voice of Korea, Vols. 1619. p. 14.
  2. 강, 준만 (2004-09-23). 한국 현대사 산책 1960년대편 1 : 4·19 혁명에서 3선 개헌까지 (in Korean). 인물과사상사. ISBN   9788988410981.