Presidential elections in South Korea determine who will serve as the
President of South Korea
The president of the Republic of Korea (), also known as the president of South Korea (often abbreviated to POTROK or POSK; ), is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of Korea. The president leads the State Council, and ...
for the next five years (formerly four, six, and seven).
Since the establishment of the
First Republic in 1948, the presidential elections have taken place 21 times (20 excluding the March 1960 election whose results were invalidated after the April Revolution): in 1948, 1952, 1956, 1960 (in March and August), 1963, 1967, 1971, 1972, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1987, 1992, 1997, 2002, 2007, 2012, 2017, and 2022.
Prior to the Presidential Election Act of 1987, the elections were indirect. Since 1987, the president is elected directly by the public in a single round plurality vote (using the
first-past-the-post
In a first-past-the-post electoral system (FPTP or FPP), formally called single-member plurality voting (SMP) when used in single-member districts or informally choose-one voting in contrast to ranked voting, or score voting, voters cast the ...
simple plurality system) for a single, non-renewable five-year term.
Procedure (1987–present)
The presidential election rules are defined by the
South Korean Constitution
The Constitution of the Republic of Korea () is the supreme law of South Korea. It was promulgated on July 17, 1948, and last revised on October 29, 1987.
Background The Provisional Charter of Korea
The preamble of the Constitution of South ...
and the Public Official Election Act.
Election campaign
The election campaign period, as set by the Election Law, is short – 23 days. According to the book ''Internet Election Campaigns in the United States, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan'', the election campaign periods in Korea (23 days for presidential elections and 14 days for
National Assembly elections)
were made intentionally short in order to "prevent excessive campaign spending for long-running election campaigns and harmful effects from overheated elections", but, on the downside, "this works against new candidates who are not well known".
Popular vote
The president is elected by direct popular vote, It is conducted in a single round on a
first-past-the-post
In a first-past-the-post electoral system (FPTP or FPP), formally called single-member plurality voting (SMP) when used in single-member districts or informally choose-one voting in contrast to ranked voting, or score voting, voters cast the ...
basis.
Summary of past presidential elections
Winning party ideology:
See also
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Elections in South Korea
Elections in South Korea are held on a national level to select the President and the National Assembly. Local elections are held every four years to elect governors, metropolitan mayors, municipal mayors, and provincial and municipal legislature ...
References
{{South Korea topics