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1987 South Korean presidential election

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Republic of Korea presidential election, 1987
← 1981 16 December 1987 1992 →
 
Nominee Roh Tae-woo Kim Young-sam
Party Democratic Justice Reunification Democratic
Popular vote 8,282,738 6,337,581
Percentage 36.6% 28.0%
 
Nominee Kim Dae-jung Kim Jong-pil
Party Peace Democratic New Democratic Republican
Popular vote 6,113,375 1,823,067
Percentage 27.0% 8.1%
provinces and cities majority won by

■ – Roh Tae-woo ■ – Kim Young-sam
■ – Kim Dae-jung

■ – Kim Jong-pil
President before election

Chun Du-hwan
Democratic Justice

Elected President

Roh Tae-woo
Democratic Justice

Presidential elections were held in South Korea on 16 December 1987.[1] They followed the democratization and establishment of the Sixth Republic under Roh Tae-woo. The elections took place following a series of protests and before the 1988 Summer Olympics, which were held in Seoul.[2] Roh won the elections with 37% of the vote; voter turnout was 89.2%.

Background

The election was held following a series nationwide of protests for free and fair election and civil liberties. This period from 10 June to 29 June became known as the June Struggle,[3] and protestors was successful in persuading the regime of then President Chun Du-Hwan, and his designated successor Roh Tae Woo to accede to key demands and create the 9th amendment of the constitution.[4]

Process of Constitutional Revision

Under the presidency of Chun Du-Hwan, the constitution was rewritten to maintain his power and restrict the presidency to a single seven-year term, and legislation such as the Basic Press Law, which closed hundreds of media organizations, was passed.[4] However, following the success of the opposition New Korea Democratic Party (NKDP) in the National Assembly election on 12 April 1985, calls were made for constitutional revision. On 13 April 1986, Chun made a speech defending the current version of the constitution, in which he stated that the successor to the presidency would be a member of his own party, the Democratic Justice Party (DJP), and that any discussion of constitutional debate would be put off until the end of the 1988 Olympics in South Korea.[4] In its argument, the DJP argued that the opposition was splintered, and could not act as a negotiating partner. They believed that political uncertainty would injure both the Olympic setup and the upcoming election.[5]

Nearly a month later on June 10, mass protests broke out as Roh Tae Woo was announced successor to the presidency as the then chair of the DJP.[3] The public nature of the announcement and the death of a university student who was tortured by the police triggered protests across Korea.[3] In the following weeks, multiple protests were held, and on 29 June, the DJP candidate Roh Tae Woo capitulated to demands for constitutional amendments, proposing an eight-point plan. It included the following concessions:

  • Direct participation in upcoming presidential election for all citizens over age 20
  • Freedom of candidacy and fair competition
  • Amnesty for Kim Dae-jung and other political prisoners
  • Protection of human dignity and promotion of basic human rights
  • Freedom of the press and abolishment of the restrictive Basic Press Law (see: Media of South Korea)
  • Educational autonomy and local self-government
  • The creation of a new political climate for dialogue and compromise
  • Commitment to enact bold social reforms to build a clean, honest, and more just society.

The new constitutional amendment was ratified by the National Assembly on 12 October, and was submitted to a referendum to the South Korean public on 27 October. 93% of voters cast ballots in favor of the amendment, which permitted the direct, democratic election of the 6th President of South Korea.[4]

Major Parties

The Democratic Justice Party (DJP) was formed in 1980 by Chun Du-Hwan. It was used as a political vehicle following the 1979 coup of Park Chung Hee’s authoritarian regime. It was the Presidential Party in power from 1970 to 1993, when Roh Tae Woo ended his term as President of South Korea.[6]

The Reunification Democratic Party (RDP) was formed when Kim Young-sam and Kim Dae Jung broke away from the NKDP following internal conflict. The two Kim’s took with them sixty-six of the ninety NKDP lawmakers, and placed Kim Yung Sam as chairman. Chun denounced the party as a “private party of the two Kim’s,” and attempted to reject any dialogue between the DJP and RDP It held its inaugural rally the same day that then- President Chun declared the suspension of constitutional revision. Kim Yung Sam ran as a presidential candidate under the RDP.[7]

The Peace Democratic Party (PDP) was created as a splinter group of the RDP, when Kim Dae Jung broke away from the group to declare himself a presidential candidate. This followed the announcement of support by a movement organization from the June Struggle.[4]

Main Candidates

Roh Tae Woo was chairman of the DJP before his candidacy for president was announced, and also served as Minister of State for National Security and Foreign Affairs. He also oversaw arrangements for the 1988 Seoul Olympics.

Kim Yeong Sam was the president of the Reunification Democratic Party. He was a South Korean democratic activist who opposed the regimes of both Park Chung-Hee and Chun Du-Hwan. He was also president of the New Democratic Party, from 1974 to 1979.[8] He was placed under house arrest following Chun’s ascension to power, but was released during the democratization process in 1985. He went on to form the Reunification Democratic Party and become president in the 1992 elections in South Korea.

Kim Dae Jung was arrested and banned from politics for his anti-government stance in 1978, though his sentence was reduced to house arrest in 1978. In 1980, he was again arrested, and this time sentenced to death under the Chun regime, though the sentence was commuted to 20 years in prison. Following the process of democratization, Kim was released from prison, and joined first the NKDP, then the RDP, before running as a presidential candidate under the PDP.[8] He is also a Nobel Peace Prize recipient, and was president of South Korea from 1998 to 2003.

Other Notable Candidates

Kim Jong-pil was head of the New Democratic Republican Party, served as Prime Minister under President Park Chung Hee.[9]

Shin Jeong-yil was the leader of the Hanist Unification Korea Party, and founder of the religion Hanol-gyo.[9]

Hong Sook-ja was the president of the Socialist Democratic Party, and South Korea’s first female diplomat. She was the first woman be a presidential candidate, though she bowed out early in the race and pledged her support to Kim Young Sam.[10]

Results

Template:South Korean presidential election, 1987

By province

provinces · cities
Roh Tae-woo
DJP 		Kim Young-sam
RDP 		Kim Dae-jung
PDP 		Kim Jong-pil
NDRP
Votes % Votes % Votes % Votes %
Seoul 1,682,824 30.3％ 1,637,347 29.1％ 1,833,010 32.6％ 460,988 8.2％
Busan 640,622 32.1％ 1,117,011 56.0％ 182,409 9.1％ 51,663 2.6％
Daegu 800,363 70.7％ 274,880 24.3％ 29,831 2.6％ 23,230 2.1％
Incheon 326,186 39.4％ 248,604 30.0％ 176,611 21.3％ 76,333 9.2％
Gwangju 22,943 4.8％ 2,471 0.5％ 449,554 94.4％ 1,111 0.2％
Gyeonggi 1,204,235 41.4％ 800,274 27.5％ 647,934 22.3％ 247,259 8.5％
Gangwon 456,596 59.3％ 240,585 26.1％ 81,478 8.8％ 49,954 5.4％
Chungcheongbuk 355,222 46.9％ 213,851 28.2％ 83,132 11.0％ 102,456 13.5％
Chungcheongnam 402,491 26.2％ 246,527 16.1％ 190,772 12.4％ 691,214 45.0％
Jeollabuk 160,760 14.1％ 17,130 1.5％ 948,955 83.5％ 8,629 0.8％
Jeollanam 119,229 8.2％ 16,826 1.2％ 1,317,990 90.3％ 4,831 0.3％
Gyeongsangbuk 1,108,035 66.4％ 470,189 28.2％ 39,756 2.4％ 43,227 2.6％
Gyeongsangnam 792,757 41.2％ 987,042 51.3％ 86,804 4.5％ 51,242 2.7％
Jeju 120,502 49.8％ 64,844 26.8％ 45,139 18.6％ 10,930 4.5％

References

  1. ^ Dieter Nohlen, Florian Grotz & Christof Hartmann (2001) Elections in Asia: A data handbook, Volume II, p420 ISBN 0-19-924959-8
  2. ^ M., Hyde, Georgie D. (1988-01-01). South Korea : education, culture, and economy. St. Martin's Press. ISBN 0312016662. OCLC 17386117.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ a b c K., Armstrong, Charles (2003-01-01). Korean society : civil society, democracy, and the state. Routledge. ISBN 0415263875. OCLC 52996563.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. ^ a b c d e Sun-Chul., Kim, (2016-01-01). Democratization and social movements in South Korea : defiant institutionalization. Routledge. ISBN 9780415582582. OCLC 974834381.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  5. ^ Times, Clyde Haberman, Special To The New York (1987-04-14). "SOUTH KOREA STEPS UP ITS ATTACKS ON OPPOSITION". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2017-04-29.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  6. ^ Sung-Joo, Han (1988-01-01). "South Korea in 1987: The Politics of Democratization". Asian Survey. 28 (1): 52–61. doi:10.2307/2644872.
  7. ^ Cotton, James. "From Authoritarianism to Democracy in South Korea". Political Studies. 37 (2): 244–259. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9248.1989.tb01481.x.
  8. ^ a b Kim, HeeMin, ed. (2011-01-01). Korean Democracy in Transition. A Rational Blueprint for Developing Societies. University Press of Kentucky. pp. 5–24. ISBN 9780813129945.
  9. ^ a b Times, Clyde Haberman, Special To The New York (1987-12-16). "With South Korea's Stability in Balance, Millions Vote for a New President". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2017-04-29.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  10. ^ "First female candidate breaks all the rules". UPI. Retrieved 2017-04-29.
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