| This article is part ofa series on |
 |
|---|
Since the establishment of theFirst Republic in 1948, there have been 22 elections forpresident of South Korea (including the March 1960 election, whose results were invalidated after theApril Revolution).
Prior to the Presidential Election Act of 1987, the elections were indirect. Since 1987, the president is elected directly by the public usingplurality-with-primaries in a single, non-renewable five-year term.[1][2][3][4][5]
The presidential election rules are defined by theSouth Korean Constitution and the Public Official Election Act.
The election campaign period, as set by the Election Law, is short – 23 days. According to the bookInternet 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 forNational Assembly elections)[6] 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".[7]
The president is elected by direct popular vote, It is conducted in a single round on afirst-past-the-post basis.[1][2][3][4][5]
Winning party ideology: Conservative · Liberal · Independent
| # | Year | Winner | 2nd | 3rd | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First Republic | ||||||
| President andvice president elected indirectly by the National Assembly[8] | ||||||
| 1 | 1948 | Syngman Rhee NARRKI (91.8%) | Kim Koo Korea Independence (6.7%) | In the vice-presidential election,Yi Si-yeong (NARRKI) won over Kim Koo by 57.4% to 33.0%. | ||
| President and vice president elected by popular vote | ||||||
| 2 | 1952 | Syngman Rhee Liberal (74.6%) | Cho Bong-am Independent (11.4%) | Yi Si-yeong Democratic Nationalist (10.9%) | The election took place during theKorean War. In the vice-presidential election, independentHam Tae-young won the election with 41.3%, defeating Liberal candidateLee Beom-seok (25.5%) and Democratic NationalistChough Pyung-ok (8.1%). | |
| 3 | 1956 | Syngman Rhee Liberal (70.0%) | Cho Bong-am Independent (30.0%) | In the vice-presidential election,Democratic Party candidateChang Myon defeatedLee Ki-poong (Liberal) by 46.4% to 44.0%. | ||
| – | Mar 1960 | Syngman Rhee Liberal (100%) | Rhee re-elected unopposed due to the death of hisDemocratic Party opponentChough Pyung-ok. In the vice-presidential election,Lee Ki-poong (Liberal) won with 79.2% overChang Myon (Democratic) with 17.5%. The results of both elections were annulled as fraudulent after theApril Revolution. | |||
| Second Republic | ||||||
| President elected indirectly by both houses of the National Assembly; Vice Presidency abolished | ||||||
| 4 | Aug 1960 | Yun Posun Democratic (82.2%) | Kim Chang-sook Independent (11.5%) | The only presidential election of the Second Republic. | ||
| Third Republic | ||||||
| President elected by popular vote | ||||||
| 5 | 1963 | Park Chung-hee Democratic Republican (46.6%) | Yun Posun Civil Rule (45.1%) | First election after theMay 16 coup. | ||
| 6 | 1967 | Park Chung-hee Democratic Republican (51.4%) | Yun Posun New Democratic (40.9%) | |||
| 7 | 1971 | Park Chung-hee Democratic Republican (53.2%) | Kim Dae-jung New Democratic (45.3%) | |||
| Fourth Republic | ||||||
| President elected by theNational Conference for Unification | ||||||
| 8 | 1972 | Park Chung-hee Democratic Republican (100%) | First election after theOctober Yushin. Park re-elected unopposed. | |||
| 9 | 1978 | Park Chung-hee Democratic Republican (100%) | Park re-elected unopposed. | |||
| 10 | 1979 | Choi Kyu-hah Independent (100%) | First election after theassassination of Park Chung-hee. Acting President Choi elected as President unopposed. | |||
| 11 | 1980 | Chun Doo-hwan Independent (100%) | First election after thecoup d'état of December Twelfth. Chun elected unopposed. | |||
| Fifth Republic | ||||||
| President elected indirectly | ||||||
| 12 | 1981 | Chun Doo-hwan Democratic Justice (90.2%) | Yu Chi-song Democratic Korea (7.7%) | The only presidential election of the Fifth Republic. | ||
| Sixth Republic | ||||||
| President elected by popular vote | ||||||
| 13 | 1987 | Roh Tae-woo Democratic Justice (36.6%) | Kim Young-sam Reunification Democratic (28.0%) | Kim Dae-jung Peace Democratic (27.0%) | First free and fair direct presidential election in South Korean history.[9] Also the first election to feature afemale candidate.[10] | |
| 14 | 1992 | Kim Young-sam Democratic Liberal (42.0%) | Kim Dae-jung Democratic (33.8%) | Chung Ju-yung Unification National (16.3%) | ||
| 15 | 1997 | Kim Dae-jung National Congress (40.3%) | Lee Hoi-chang Grand National (38.7%) | Lee In-je National New (19.2%) | ||
| 16 | 2002 | Roh Moo-hyun Millennium Democratic (48.9%) | Lee Hoi-chang Grand National (46.6%) | |||
| 17 | 2007 | Lee Myung-bak Grand National (48.7%) | Chung Dong-young United New Democratic (26.1%) | Lee Hoi-chang Independent (15.1%) | ||
| 18 | 2012 | Park Geun-hye Saenuri (51.6%) | Moon Jae-in Democratic United (48.0%) | First female president elected in South Korean history. First election since democratization where a candidate won an absolute majority of the vote. | ||
| 19 | 2017 | Moon Jae-in Democratic (41.1%) | Hong Jun-pyo Liberty Korea (24.0%) | Ahn Cheol-soo People's (21.4%) | Held after theimpeachment and removal of Park Geun-hye. | |
| 20 | 2022 | Yoon Suk Yeol People Power (48.6%) | Lee Jae-myung Democratic (47.8%) | |||
| 21 | 2025 | Lee Jae-myung Democratic (49.42%) | Kim Moon-soo People Power (41.15%) | Lee Jun-seok Reform (8.34%) | Held after theimpeachment and removal of Yoon Suk Yeol. | |
South Korea's political forms had been authoritarian during the Cold War and the first free and fair presidential election was held in 1987.
| Presidential elections | |
|---|---|
| Legislative elections | |
| Local elections | |
| By-elections | |
| Referendums | |
