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| Turnout | 75.84% ( 12.81pp) | ||||||||||||||||
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Presidential elections were held inSouth Korea on 19 December 2012. They were the sixth presidential elections sincedemocratization and the establishment of theSixth Republic, and were held under afirst-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 presidentLee Myung-bak ended on 24 February 2013. According toThe Korea Times, 30.7 million people voted with turnout at 75.8%.
Park Geun-hye of theSaenuri party was elected the first femaleSouth Korean president with 51.6% of the vote opposed to 48.0% for her opponentMoon Jae-in.[1] Park's share of the vote was the highest won by any candidate since the beginning of free and fair direct elections in1987 and the first such election in which any candidate won a majority.[2] Moreover, as of the2025 election, this is the latest South Korean presidential election in which the winning candidate won anabsolute majority of the vote.
In 2017, followingPark's impeachment and removal from office, Moon would go on to succeed her as president following a successful bid for the presidency in the2017 presidential election.
Lee Myung-bak waselected President of South Korea in 2007 as the nominee of the conservativeGrand National Party after a closely contestedprimary in which he narrowly defeatedPark Geun-hye, and assumed office in February 2008.[3] His victory brought to a close ten years of liberal administration underKim Dae-jung andRoh Moo-hyun. TheLee Myung-bak government pursued the reduction of government bureaucracy and alaissez-faire economic policy,[4] and came under criticism from theleft for political scandals and controversial policies such as theJeju-do Naval Base and its support of theSouth Korea-United States Free Trade Agreement, although both were initiated under the previous administration.[5][6] Despite the fact that he was elected in alandslide victory and received initial approval ratings of 70%,[7] Lee's ratings had declined to below 30% by 2012.[8]
At the end of 2011, Park Geun-hye assumed control of the Grand National Party, which was subsequently renamed theSaenuri or New Frontier Party in February 2012.[9] She distanced herself from Lee and led the party towards thecenter.[10][11] Inlegislative elections in April 2012, Park guided the party to an upset victory, returning its majority in theNational Assembly.[12] This contributed to an increase in her poll ratings and consolidated her position as frontrunner for the Saenuri nomination.[13]
Opposition to Saenuri was divided primarily between theDemocratic United Party andindependent supporters ofAhn Cheol-soo, who emerged as a leading potential candidate despite his ostensible silence on the race.[14] In the DUP, focus initially lay onSohn Hak-kyu as a potential nominee, but by late 2011Moon Jae-in, a confidant of former president Roh, had overtaken Sohn in polls.[15] Although the DUP invited Ahn to join the party,[16] only 2.3% of respondents to a poll on 21 April thought that Ahn was best suited to be DUP nominee.[17] The DUP itself has been troubled by the split between pro-Roh members such as Moon Jae-in and the "Honam wing" of former presidentKim Dae-jung, represented byChung Dong-young.[18]
Ballot numbers for party candidates were given according to the candidate's party seat distribution in theNational Assembly. Ballot numbers for independent candidates were determined through a random lottery by theNational Election Commission.
| 1 | 2 | 3 (Resigned) | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
| Park Geun-hye | Moon Jae-in | Lee Jung-hee | Park Jong-sun | Kim So-yeon | Kang Ji-won | Kim Soon-ja |
| Saenuri | Democratic United | Unified Progressive | Independent | Independent | Independent | Independent |
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| Moon Jae-in | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Member of theNational Assembly (2012– ) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The 2012Democratic United Party presidential primary saw anopen primary system implemented for the first time. This new open primary introduced "mobile voting"; it was hailed as a "revolution in voting" because people could participate in voting more conveniently. However, controversies persisted during the primary elections, as questions of the legitimacy and trustworthiness of the voting results were raised.[19]The official result was announced on 16 September 2012, at 15:32KST, namingMoon Jae-in the presidential candidate from the Democratic United Party.[20] After winning the nomination, Moon stated that he would like to join forces withAhn Cheol-soo.[21]
Jo, Kim J and Kim Y were disqualified by the party through a cutoff poll, where only top five candidates were allowed to pass to primaries.[22] Park withdrew before the primaries began.
P= Pre-registered electors who voted atPolling booths; M: Pre-registered electors who voted throughMobile devices; D= PartyDelegates who voted at the polling booths
Moon Jae-in won the nomination on the first ballot, so no run-off contest was needed.[23][unreliable source?]
| Dates | Races | Moon | Sohn | Kim | Chung | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | |||
| 25 Aug. | Jeju | P | 301 | 49.5 | 155 | 25.5 | 134 | 22.0 | 18 | 3.0 | 608 | 100 |
| M | 11,701 | 60.5 | 3,693 | 20.5 | 2,739 | 14.2 | 942 | 4.9 | 19,35 | 100 | ||
| D | 21 | 14.1 | 52 | 34.9 | 71 | 47.7 | 5 | 3.4 | 149 | 100 | ||
| 26 Aug. | Ulsan | P | 176 | 58.5 | 42 | 14.0 | 50 | 16.6 | 33 | 11.0 | 301 | 100 |
| M | 4,719 | 51.9 | 1,058 | 11.6 | 2,974 | 32.7 | 347 | 3.8 | 9,098 | 100 | ||
| D | 56 | 51.4 | 17 | 15.6 | 29 | 26.6 | 7 | 6.4 | 109 | 100 | ||
| 28 Aug. | Gangwon | P | 192 | 50.0 | 121 | 31.5 | 52 | 13.5 | 19 | 4.9 | 384 | 100 |
| M | 2,598 | 46.9 | 2,075 | 37.4 | 574 | 10.4 | 298 | 5.4 | 5,545 | 100 | ||
| D | 47 | 18.2 | 132 | 51.2 | 52 | 20.2 | 27 | 10.5 | 258 | 100 | ||
| 30 Aug. | N. Chungcheong | P | 209 | 39.5 | 232 | 43.9 | 80 | 15.1 | 8 | 1.5 | 529 | 100 |
| M | 7,796 | 46.4 | 6,755 | 40.2 | 1,780 | 10.6 | 455 | 2.7 | 16,786 | 100 | ||
| D | 127 | 39.4 | 121 | 37.6 | 71 | 22.0 | 3 | 0.9 | 322 | 100 | ||
| 1 Sep. | N. Jeolla | P | 782 | 17.1 | 1,259 | 27.5 | 684 | 14.9 | 1,855 | 40.5 | 4,580 | 100 |
| M | 15,489 | 40.3 | 8,757 | 22.8 | 4,707 | 12.3 | 9,443 | 24.6 | 38,396 | 100 | ||
| D | 79 | 13.7 | 177 | 30.7 | 63 | 10.9 | 258 | 44.7 | 577 | 100 | ||
| 2 Sep. | Incheon | P | 191 | 42.9 | 153 | 34.4 | 73 | 16.4 | 28 | 6.3 | 445 | 100 |
| M | 5,607 | 51.2 | 2,841 | 25.9 | 1,823 | 16.6 | 687 | 6.3 | 10,958 | 100 | ||
| D | 130 | 30.2 | 149 | 34.6 | 80 | 18.6 | 72 | 16.7 | 431 | 100 | ||
| 4 Sep. | S. Gyeongsang | P | 354 | 25.1 | 136 | 9.6 | 908 | 64.3 | 14 | 1.0 | 1,412 | 100 |
| M | 11,216 | 46.5 | 2,256 | 9.4 | 10,265 | 42.6 | 374 | 1.6 | 24,111 | 100 | ||
| D | 113 | 29.4 | 52 | 13.5 | 208 | 54.0 | 12 | 3.1 | 385 | 100 | ||
| 6 Sep. | Gwangju | P | 1,385 | 27.6 | 2,182 | 43.4 | 1,257 | 25.0 | 200 | 4.0 | 5,024 | 100 |
| M | 32,345 | 50.5 | 20,053 | 31.3 | 9,546 | 14.9 | 2,105 | 3.3 | 64,049 | 100 | ||
| D | 179 | 19.9 | 375 | 41.7 | 215 | 23.9 | 130 | 14.5 | 899 | 100 | ||
| 8 Sep. | Busan | P | 714 | 64.1 | 90 | 8.1 | 290 | 26.0 | 20 | 1.8 | 1,114 | 100 |
| M | 17,162 | 66.4 | 2,577 | 10.0 | 5,542 | 21.4 | 562 | 2.2 | 25,843 | 100 | ||
| D | 259 | 62.6 | 59 | 14.3 | 75 | 18.1 | 21 | 5.1 | 414 | 100 | ||
| 9 Sep. | Daejeon | P | 468 | 57.1 | 215 | 26.3 | 95 | 11.6 | 41 | 5.0 | 819 | 100 |
| M | 14,373 | 63.3 | 4,026 | 17.7 | 2,481 | 10.9 | 1,838 | 8.1 | 22,718 | 100 | ||
| D | 263 | 48.1 | 139 | 25.4 | 64 | 11.7 | 81 | 14.8 | 547 | 100 | ||
| 12 Sep. | Daegu | P | 365 | 57.4 | 90 | 14.2 | 169 | 26.6 | 12 | 1.9 | 636 | 100 |
| M | 9,745 | 57.5 | 3,028 | 17.9 | 3,318 | 19.6 | 846 | 5.0 | 16,937 | 100 | ||
| D | 165 | 34.7 | 96 | 20.2 | 134 | 28.2 | 80 | 16.8 | 475 | 100 | ||
| 15 Sep. | Gyeonggi | P | 1,219 | 55.7 | 677 | 30.9 | 187 | 8.5 | 107 | 4.9 | 2,190 | 100 |
| M | 47,844 | 63.5 | 17,270 | 22.9 | 6,661 | 8.8 | 3,527 | 4.7 | 75,302 | 100 | ||
| D | 522 | 37.0 | 530 | 37.5 | 130 | 9.2 | 230 | 16.3 | 1,412 | 100 | ||
| 16 Sep. | Seoul | P | 1,434 | 56.3 | 688 | 27.0 | 229 | 9.0 | 195 | 7.7 | 2,546 | 100 |
| M | 156,122 | 60.8 | 53,197 | 20.7 | 29,845 | 11.6 | 17,756 | 6.9 | 256,920 | 100 | ||
| D | 715 | 42.5 | 41 | 24.4 | 187 | 11.1 | 371 | 22.0 | 1,683 | 100 | ||
| Total | 347,183 | 56.5 | 136,205 | 22.2 | 87,842 | 14.3 | 43027 | 7.0 | 614,257 | 100 | ||
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| Park Geun-hye | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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_(cropped).jpg) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Leader of the Saenuri Party (2011–2012) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The first member of theSaenuri Party to officially announce their candidacy wasKim Moon-soo on 22 April. Kim, a formerlabor activist, stated in his announcement that he would focus on combating regional and socioeconomic divides, emphasized his commitment to a policy ofmulticulturalism, and argued for a revision in Saenuri'sprimary system. He stated further that Park Geun-hye's leadership of the party represented only an "ambiguously prevailing trend", and could not be relied upon to reach victory in the elections.[14] Although Kim said that he was "convinced" he could "attract more support than [Park]", he was not widely expected to garner a high level of support. His early announcement was regarded as an attempt to preemptively form an anti-Park faction in the party.[24]
Chung Mong-joon, a billionaire and longstanding member of theNational Assembly, followed on 29 April. In his announcement, Chung emphasized the need to confront regionalism and factional politics, and stated that he would "write a new history of the Republic of Korea by facilitating [his] experience of managing a business, engaging in diplomacy and creating unity in the nation". He stressed that his task was to "bring together the divided hearts of the people" and that he was concerned that the "country could collapse in its current situation".[25] LikeKim Moon-soo, Chung is expected to be at a disadvantage to Park.[25] Chung previously declared his candidacy in the2002 presidential elections but later dropped out to endorseRoh Moo-hyun.[26]
The former mayor of Incheon, Ahn Sang-soo, declared his candidacy on 6 May, emphasizing his economic credentials and stating that he would relieve the burden of debt.[27] Former presidential Chief of Staff Yim Tae-hee followed on 8 May, issuing a call for Park Geun-hye to act as a "kingmaker" that was interpreted as a request for her to step aside.[28] Yim, a moderate, proposed to join hands with independent Ahn Cheol-soo and DUP frontrunner Moon Jae-in in a bid to "demolish outdated politics".[29] On 10 May, five-term lawmaker and former Minister for Government Legislation and Special Affairs Lee Jae-oh announced his bid, promising to reform the constitution and cut his term as president to three years.[30]
The campaign for the Saenuri primaries has been characterized by a dispute between Park Geun-hye, as frontrunner and party leader, and her opponents in the party. She was cited in 2009 as the most influentialpolitician in South Korea,[31] and has outranked other candidates in many polls throughout 2012,[32] though as of early May 2012 she is yet to officially declare her candidacy.[27] Park's opponents have called for Saenuri to adopt anopen primary system rather than the present system based on an electoral college and opinion poll results.[33] At the end of April the Democratic United Party suggested a joint discussion on the issue of fully open primaries.[34] Park has been criticized for her taciturn and authoritarian style in leading the party, and Kim Moon-soo described her as overly "secretive".[33] Chung Mong-joon stated that under Park's leadership, "democracy in the party [had] gone missing".[35] Park strengthened her position when her allyLee Hahn-koo was elected Saenuri's floor leader on 9 May.[36]
During a primary debate on 7 August 2012, primary candidateKim Tae-ho asked ifPark Geun-hye would agree that theMay 16 coup by her father (Park Chung Hee) was both a coup and a "necessary decision", regarding Park's previous stance that the overthrow was a "revolution to save the country". Park confirmed her stance by answering, "I don't think it's the place of politicians to be fighting over whether [the 16 May incident] were a 'coup d'etat' or a 'revolution'". She furthermore commented that "no one can refute that the events themselves did happen, whether you call them a 'coup' or a 'revolution.'" and that "we need to leave that issue" for history to decide.[37] In addition, during another debate on 8 August 2012, the moderator asked Park the minimum hourly rate for a part-time worker as of 2012. Park replied "I think it's over 5,000won, isn't it?," when the legal minimum wage was 4,580 won. In response, The South Korean Confederation of Trade Unions responded with a statement in which it said, "It is terribly discouraging when a person who wants to become president does not even know the country's minimum wage, which is a minimal right for survival and the first step toward a welfare state".[38]
Chung and Lee, in protest of the controversial primary rule negotiations, withdrew their bids for nomination before the convention.
The official result was announced at Saenuri National Convention, which took place on 20 August 2012 at 05:40KST, nominatingPark Geun-hye as the presidential candidate for the Saenuri Party.[39]
| Candidate | Place | Votes | Percentage |
| Park Geun-hye | Nominated | 86,589 | 83.97% |
| Kim Moon-soo | 2nd | 8,955 | 8.68% |
| Kim Tae-ho | 3rd | 3,298 | 3.20% |
| Yim Tae-hee | 4th | 2,676 | 2.69% |
| Ahn Sang-soo | 5th | 1,600 | 1.55% |
| 103,118 | 100.0% | ||
Lee Jung-hee (Unified Progressive Party)
Former leader of UPP and former Member of National Assembly[40]
Kim So-yeon (Independent)[41]
Elected to theKorean Confederation of Trade Unions
Kim Soon-ja (Independent)[42]
A Cleaning worker, andNew Progressive Party candidate in2012 South Korean legislative election
Kang Ji-won (Independent)[43]
Chairman of Korea Manifesto Center
Park Jong-sun (Independent)
A former entrepreneur
![Ahn Cheol-soo[44][45] Former Dean of Seoul National University Graduate School of Convergence Science and Technology Former chairman of software firm AhnLab Inc](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aAhn_Cheol-soo_portrait.jpg)
Lee Gun-gae[46]
A formerNational Assembly Member
| Poll source | Date | Sample size | |  | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Park (%) Saenuri | Moon (%) DUP | ||||
| JoongAng Ilbo[47] | 19–21 July 2012 | 2,000 | 56.6 | 35.0 | 21.6 |
| OhMyNews/Research View[48][unreliable source?] | 16–17 July 2012 | 1,000 | 50.8 | 41.0 | 9.8 |
| Realmeter[49] | 29 May – 1 June 2012 | 3,000 | 52.5 | 38.6 | 13.9 |
| Hankyoreh /Korea Society Opinion Institute[50] | 26–27 May 2012 | 61.0 | 33.5 | 27.5 | |
| Realmeter[51] | 21–25 May 2012 | 3,750 | 52.6 | 37.9 | 14.7 |
| JoongAng Ilbo[52] | 15 May 2012 | 910 | 57.6 | 33.3 | 24.3 |
| Realmeter[53] | 14–18 May 2012 | 3,750 | 52.0 | 37.5 | 14.5 |
| Realmeter[54] | 7–11 May 2012 | 3,750 | 51.9 | 38.2 | 13.7 |
| Realmeter[55] | 7–8 May 2012 | 1,500 | 55.7 | 36.3 | 19.4 |
| Realmeter[56] | 30 April – 4 May 2012 | 3,000 | 52.4 | 38.0 | 14.4 |
| Realmeter[57] | 23–27 April 2012 | 3,750 | 50.9 | 40.3 | 10.6 |
| Realmeter[58] | 6–10 February 2012 | 3,750 | 44.3 | 43.0 | 1.3 |
| Realmeter[59] | 30 January – 3 February 2012 | 3,750 | 44.4 | 44.9 | 0.5 |
| The Dong-A Ilbo[59] | 24 January 2012 | 46.7 | 38.4 | 8.3 |
KBS, MBC, and SBS Terrestrial Broadcasting Exit Survey
| Candidate | Estimated percentage |
|---|---|
| Park Geun-hye | 50.1% |
| Moon Jae-in | 48.9% |
| Candidate | Party | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Park Geun-hye | Saenuri Party | 15,773,128 | 51.56 | |
| Moon Jae-in | Democratic United Party | 14,692,632 | 48.02 | |
| Kang Ji-won | Independent | 53,303 | 0.17 | |
| Kim Soon-ja | Independent | 46,017 | 0.15 | |
| Kim So-yeon | Independent | 16,687 | 0.05 | |
| Park Jong-sun | Independent | 12,854 | 0.04 | |
| Total | 30,594,621 | 100.00 | ||
| Valid votes | 30,594,621 | 99.59 | ||
| Invalid/blank votes | 126,838 | 0.41 | ||
| Total votes | 30,721,459 | 100.00 | ||
| Registered voters/turnout | 40,507,842 | 75.84 | ||
| Source:National Election Commission | ||||
| Province/City | Park Geun-hye | Moon Jae-in | Kang Ji-won | Kim Soon-ja | Kim So-yeon | Park Jong-sun | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | |
| Seoul | 3,024,572 | 48.19 | 3,227,639 | 51.42 | 11,829 | 0.19 | 5,307 | 0.08 | 3,793 | 0.06 | 3,559 | 0.06 |
| Busan | 1,324,159 | 59.82 | 882,511 | 39.87 | 2,878 | 0.13 | 2,389 | 0.11 | 913 | 0.04 | 555 | 0.03 |
| Daegu | 1,267,789 | 80.15 | 309,034 | 19.54 | 2,043 | 0.13 | 1,984 | 0.13 | 624 | 0.04 | 366 | 0.02 |
| Incheon | 852,600 | 51.58 | 794,213 | 48.05 | 2,730 | 0.17 | 1,910 | 0.12 | 1,005 | 0.06 | 508 | 0.03 |
| Gwangju | 69,574 | 7.77 | 823,737 | 91.98 | 1,113 | 0.12 | 561 | 0.06 | 333 | 0.04 | 268 | 0.03 |
| Daejeon | 450,576 | 49.96 | 448,310 | 49.71 | 1,291 | 0.14 | 969 | 0.11 | 461 | 0.05 | 271 | 0.03 |
| Ulsan | 413,977 | 59.79 | 275,451 | 39.78 | 898 | 0.13 | 1,463 | 0.21 | 434 | 0.06 | 210 | 0.03 |
| Sejong | 33,587 | 51.91 | 30,787 | 47.59 | 99 | 0.15 | 155 | 0.24 | 38 | 0.06 | 31 | 0.05 |
| Gyeonggi | 3,528,915 | 50.44 | 3,442,084 | 49.20 | 12,577 | 0.18 | 7,476 | 0.11 | 3,674 | 0.05 | 1,997 | 0.03 |
| Gangwon | 562,876 | 61.97 | 340,870 | 37.53 | 1,514 | 0.17 | 2,114 | 0.23 | 524 | 0.06 | 356 | 0.04 |
| North Chungcheong | 518,442 | 56.23 | 398,907 | 43.26 | 1,511 | 0.16 | 2,241 | 0.24 | 542 | 0.06 | 410 | 0.04 |
| South Chungcheong | 658,928 | 56.66 | 497,630 | 42.79 | 1,976 | 0.17 | 3,198 | 0.27 | 688 | 0.06 | 516 | 0.04 |
| North Jeolla | 150,315 | 13.23 | 980,322 | 86.25 | 3,066 | 0.27 | 1,690 | 0.15 | 702 | 0.06 | 480 | 0.04 |
| South Jeolla | 116,296 | 10.00 | 1,038,347 | 89.28 | 4,338 | 0.37 | 2,487 | 0.21 | 759 | 0.07 | 732 | 0.06 |
| North Gyeongsang | 1,375,164 | 80.82 | 316,659 | 18.61 | 2,119 | 0.12 | 5,886 | 0.35 | 873 | 0.05 | 810 | 0.05 |
| South Gyeongsang | 1,259,174 | 63.12 | 724,896 | 36.34 | 2,654 | 0.13 | 5,326 | 0.27 | 1,084 | 0.05 | 1,637 | 0.08 |
| Jeju | 166,184 | 50.46 | 161,235 | 48.96 | 667 | 0.20 | 861 | 0.26 | 240 | 0.07 | 148 | 0.04 |
| Total | 15,773,128 | 51.56 | 14,692,632 | 48.02 | 53,303 | 0.17 | 46,017 | 0.15 | 16,687 | 0.05 | 12,854 | 0.04 |
| Source:National Election Commission | ||||||||||||
On 11 December 2012, the Democratic United Party claimed that agents of the Psychological Operations group in theSouth Korean National Intelligence Service (NIS) were influencing public opinion under orders by the NIS, by posting comments on the Internet. They followed these claims by identifying one such agent. In a police raid, that agent did not emerge from the rented office and claimed that she was not involved in such actions. Right after the last TV debate between candidates Park Geun-Hye and Moon Jae-in, police announced that no evidence was found. After Park Geun-Hye was sworn into office, evidence emerged that the agent in question and many others were involved in activities manipulating public opinion in the presidential election. On 27 May 2013 theSeoul Metropolitan Police Agency and Seoul Suseo Police Station was found to have delayed delivering evidence, and turned in fabricated laptop hard drive analysis reports.[60][61] The police already had evidence that the agent in question posted political comments, the analysis report was not submitted to the Suseo Police Station and was destroyed.[62][63]
In 2013, prosecutorYoon Seok-youl led a special investigation team that looked into theNational Intelligence Service (NIS)'s involvement in the scandal. Yoon sought the prosecution of the former head of the NIS,Won Sei-hoon for violating the Public Official Election Act for his role in the case. Yoon accused Park Geun-hye's Justice MinisterHwang Kyo-ahn of influencing his investigation.[64] In February 2015, Won was convicted on charges of instructing NIS officials to manipulate internet comments and sentenced to three years in prison.[65] However the conviction was overturned on appeal, leading to a retrial. In a second trial, Won was sentenced to four years in prison in 2017. The Supreme Court upheld the sentence in April 2018.[66] When Moon Jae-in won the 2017 election, his administration pursued nine additional charges of political interference against Won, resulting in a subsequent 7 year jail sentence in 2020.[67]
In August 2017, the NIS formally acknowledged that it was involved in the election manipulation after an internal inquiry.[68] In December 2020, the National Assembly passed reforms curbing powers of the NIS, explicitly banning the agency and its employees from interfering in domestic politics.[69]
In June 2021, according to aMBC News report, Won Sei-hoon pushed South Korean embassies abroad to delay issuing new passports to Korean nationals, who tend to lean liberal in order to limit their ability to vote for Moon Jae-in. A NIS whistleblower also claimed that he was tortured after objecting to the operation by being placed for several days in a small white room intended to cause sensory disorientation.[70]
[Park] re-crafted [the party] by creating a new name, image and more centrist platform...
| Presidential elections | |
|---|---|
| Legislative elections | |
| Local elections | |
| By-elections | |
| Referendums | |
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