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2012 South Korean presidential election

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Republic of Korea presidential election, 2012
← 2007 19 December 2012 2017 →
 
Nominee Park Geun-hye Moon Jae-in Ahn Cheol-soo
Party Saenuri Democratic United Independent
President before election

Lee Myung-bak
Saenuri

Elected President

TBD

This article is part of a series on
Politics of South Korea
Government
Legislature
Executive
Judiciary
Elections
Political parties
Korean conflict

The 18th Republic of Korea presidential election will be held in South Korea on 19 December 2012. It will be the sixth presidential election since democratization and the establishment of the Sixth Republic, and will be held under a first-past-the-post system, meaning that there will be a single round of voting and the candidate receiving the highest number of votes will be elected. Under the South Korean constitution, presidents are restricted to a single five-year term in office, and the term of incumbent president Lee Myung-bak will end in February 2013. Registration for candidacy began on 23 April 2012.[1]

Background

Lee Myung-bak was elected President of South Korea in 2007 as the nominee of the conservative Grand National Party after a closely contested primary in which he narrowly defeated Park Geun-hye, and assumed office in February 2008.[2] His victory brought to a close ten years of liberal administration under Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun. The Lee Myung-bak government pursued the reduction of government bureaucracy and a laissez-faire economic policy,[3] and came under criticism from the left for political scandals and controversial policies such as the Jeju-do Naval Base and its support of the South Korea-United States Free Trade Agreement, although both were initiated under the previous administration.[4][5] Despite the fact that he was elected in a landslide victory and received initial approval ratings of 70%,[6] Lee's ratings had declined to below 30% by 2012.[7]

At the end of 2011, Park Geun-hye assumed control of the Grand National Party, which was subsequently renamed the Saenuri or New Frontier Party in February 2012.[8] She distanced herself from Lee and led the party towards the center.[9][10] In legislative elections in April 2012, Park guided the party to an upset victory, returning its majority in the National Assembly.[11] This contributed to an increase in her poll ratings and consolidated her position as frontrunner for the Saenuri nomination.[12][13]

Opposition to Saenuri is divided primarily between the Democratic United Party and independent supporters of Ahn Cheol-soo, who has emerged as a leading potential candidate despite his ostensible silence on the race.[14] In the DUP, focus initially lay on Sohn Hak-kyu as a potential nominee, but by late 2011 Moon 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 president Kim Dae-jung, represented by Chung Dong-young.[18]

Nominations

Democratic United Party

Primary

The 2012 Democratic United party presidential primary was the selection process which open primary was tried for choosing the their candidate for the 2012 South Korean presidential election. Party introduced 'mobile voting', claiming it as 'Revolution of voting' that people could participate in voting conveniently. However, there was a consistent controversies surrounding the legitimacy and whether the results were trustworthy during the progrss of primary election.[19] The official result was announced on 16 September 2012, at 15:32 KST, naming Moon Jae-in the presidential candidate from the Democratic United Party.[20] After nominated, Moon stated that he would like to merge with Ahn Cheol-soo.[21]

Candidates

Member of National Assembly from Busan Sasang-gu
4th Chief Presidential Secretary of Roh Moo-hyun administration
Slogan: People come at first.
Member of National Assembly from Seoul Jongno-gu ('gu' means district)
Slogan: Waiting For Tomorrow
Governor of South Gyeongsang (although it was not mandatory, he resigned governorship in order to run for this primary after announcing his candidacy.)
Slogan: Equal Nation
Former Governor of Gyeonggi
Slogan: Life With Comfortable Dinner

Result

Candidate Place Vote Percentage Votes Count Regions with plurality
Moon Jae-in Nominated 56.5% 347,183
17
Jeju, Ulsan, Gangwon, North Chungcheong, North Jeolla, Incheon, South Gyeongsang, Gwangju, South Jeolla, Busan, Sejong, Daejeon, South Chungcheong, Daegu, North Gyeongsang, Gyeonggi, Seoul
Sohn Hak-kyu 2nd 22.2% 136,205
0
Kim Doo-kwan 3nd 14.3% 87,842
0
Chung Sye-kyun 4th 7.0% 43,027
0
100% 614,257
17

Saenuri Party

Candidates

Member of National Assembly from Proportional Representation No. 11 of Saenuri Party
Acting First Lady of Park Jeong-hee
Slogan: A Country where my dreams can come true.
Former Chief of staff of Lee Myung-bak administration
Slogan: No worries with Yim Tae-hee.
Member of National Assembly from Gimhae Eul(Radical 5, 乙) (Gimhae's 2nd congressional district)
Slogan: Change For Old Politics, New Generation
Former Mayor of Incheon
Slogan: Country with no debts
Governor of Gyeonggi
Slogan: Freely! Korea.

Results

The official result was announced at Saenuri Convention whitch took place on 20th August 2012, at 05:40 KST, naming Park Geun-hye the presidential candidate of the Saenuri party.[22]

Candidate Place Vote Percentage Votes Count
Park Geun-hye Nominated 83.97% 86,589
Kim Moon-soo 2nd 8.68% 8,955
Kim Tae-ho 3nd 3.20% 3,298
Yim Tae-hee 4th 2.69% 2,676
Ahn Sang-soo 5th 1.55% 1,600
100% 103,118

Campaign

The first member of the Saenuri Party to officially announce their candidacy was Kim Moon-soo on April 22. Kim, a former labor activist, stated in his announcement that he would focus on combating regional and socioeconomic divides, emphasized his commitment to a policy of multiculturalism, and argued for a revision in Saenuri's primary system.[23] 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 is not widely expected to garner a high level of support.[23] 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 the National Assembly, followed on April 29. 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".[25] 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".[26] Like Kim Moon-soo, Chung is expected to be at a disadvantage to Park.[26] Chung previously declared his candidacy in the 2002 presidential elections but later dropped out to endorse Roh Moo-hyun.[27]

The former Mayor of Incheon, Ahn Sang-soo, declared his candidacy on May 6, emphasizing his economic credentials and stating that he would relieve the burden of debt.[28] Former presidential Chief of Staff Yim Tae-hee followed on May 8, issuing a call for Park Geun-hye to act as a "kingmaker" that was interpreted as a request for her to step aside.[29] 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".[30] On May 10, 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.[31]

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 influential politician in South Korea,[32] and has outranked other candidates in many polls throughout 2012,[33] though as of early May 2012 she is yet to officially declare her candidacy.[28] Park's opponents have called for Saenuri to adopt an open primary system rather than the present system based on an electoral college and opinion poll results.[34] At the end of April the Democratic United Party suggested a joint discussion on the issue of fully open primaries.[35] Park has been criticized for her taciturn and authoritarian style in leading the party, and Kim Moon-soo described her as overly "secretive".[34] Chung Mong-joon stated that under Park's leadership, "democracy in the party [had] gone missing".[36] Park strengthened her position when her ally Lee Hahn-koo was elected Saenuri's floor leader on May 9.[37]

During a primary debate on Aug. 7, 2012, primary candidate Kim Tae-ho asked if Park Geun-hye would agree that the May 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 May 16 event] 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.[38] In addition, during another debate on Aug. 8, the moderator asked Park the minimum hourly rate for a part-time worker as of 2012. Park replied “I think it’s over 5,000 won, isn’t it?,” when the legal minimum wage was 4,580 won. In response, The 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.”[39]

Third parties and independent candidates

Announced

Kang Ji-won[46]
Chairman of Korea Manifesto Center

Lee Gun-gae[47]
A former National Assembly Member

Park Chan-jong[48]
A former National Assembly Member

Speculated

Opinion polling

Main article: Opinion polling for the South Korean presidential election, 2012

See also

References

  1. ^ Presidential Election Registration Begins, Saenuri Lawmakers To Announce Bids. Arirang News, 23 April 2012. Retrieved 23 April 2012.
  2. ^ Foster-Carter, Aiden (3 April 2012). "The South: Busy at the polls". Asia Times Online. Retrieved 30 April 2012.
  3. ^ Lee, Seung-Ook; Kim, Sook-Jin; Wainwright, Joel (2010). "Mad cow militancy: Neoliberal hegemony and social resistance in South Korea". Political Geography. 30: 1–11.
  4. ^ "Koreans negative on opposition's KORUS FTA move". The Korea Times. 10 February 2012. Retrieved 30 April 2012.
  5. ^ Jung Sung-ki (14 May 2007). "Jeju Agrees to Build Naval Base". The Korea Times. Retrieved 2 May 2012.
  6. ^ "South Korea Ruling Party Risks Parliament Election Loss". Bloomberg L.P. 6 April 2012. Retrieved 30 April 2012.
  7. ^ "The Asan Monthly Opinion Survey January 2012" (PDF). Asan Institute for Policy Studies. January 2012. Retrieved 30 April 2012.
  8. ^ "Rebranding GNP picks Saenuri as new name". Korea JoongAng Daily. 3 February 2012. Retrieved 30 April 2012.
  9. ^ Fawcett, Harry (12 April 2012). "A tale of two Koreas". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 30 April 2012.
  10. ^ Ramstad, Evan (2 May 2012). "As Prez Candidates Emerge, What's Election Really About?". The Wall Street Journal Asia. Retrieved 12 May 2012. [Park] re-crafted [the party] by creating a new name, image and more centrist platform...
  11. ^ Ramstad, Evan (12 April 2012). "Odds & Ends A Day After The Election". The Wall Street Journal Asia. Retrieved 30 April 2012.
  12. ^ "대선 양자구도, 박근혜 처음으로 안철수 앞서" (in Korean). Realmeter. 16 April 2012. Retrieved 30 April 2012. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
  13. ^ Cite error: The named reference Weekly Kyunghyang 18/4 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  14. ^ a b "Let the presidential election games begin". Donga Ilbo. 23 April 2012. Retrieved 23 April 2012.
  15. ^ Jackson, Andy (8 August 2011). "SKorea: Moon Jae-in overtakes Sohn Hak-kyu in presidential poll". Asian Correspondent. Retrieved 30 April 2012.
  16. ^ "[Editorial] Where is Ahn headed?". The Korea Herald. 29 April 2012. Retrieved 30 April 2012.
  17. ^ "Most would choose Park or Ahn for president". The Hankyoreh. 23 April 2012. Retrieved 30 April 2012.
  18. ^ "DUP disputing new framework for election". The Hankyoreh. 28 April 2012. Retrieved 10 May 2012.
  19. ^ "끝없는 논란 휩싸인 민주당 모바일투표(Endless controversies surrounding DUP's mobile vote". Yeonhap News. Retrieved 14 October 2012.
  20. ^ "Moon Jae-in Elected DUP's Presidential Candidate". KBS Global. Retrieved 17 September 2012.
  21. ^ "DUP's Moon Confident about Merging with Ahn". KBS Global. Retrieved 17 September 2012.
  22. ^ "Park Geun-hye Elected Saenuri Party's Presidential Candidate". KBS Global. 20 August 2012..
  23. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Korea Times 23/4 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  24. ^ Former activist targets non-Park conservatives, The Korea Herald. 24 April 2012, retrieved 24 April 2012.
  25. ^ Cite error: The named reference Korea Herald 29/4 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  26. ^ a b "Veteran lawmaker Chung announces bid for president". The Korea Times. 29 April 2012. Retrieved 29 April 2012.
  27. ^ "A top South Korean candidate drops out". New York Times. 25 November 2002. Retrieved 27 April 2012.
  28. ^ a b "Ex-Incheon mayor joins Saenuri presidential race". The Korea Herald. 6 May 2012. Retrieved 6 May 2012.
  29. ^ "Former key aide to S. Korean president announces presidential bid". China Daily. 8 May 2012. Retrieved 8 May 2012.
  30. ^ "Former chief of staff declares presidential bid". The Korea Herald. 8 May 2012. Retrieved 8 May 2012.
  31. ^ Lee Kyeong-tae (이경태) (10 May 2012). "이재오 "당선되면 6개월 내 개헌, 내 임기는 3년으로"" (in Korean). OhMyNews. Retrieved 10 May 2012. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
  32. ^ 2009 survey by Herald Business
  33. ^ Poll: Park Geun-hye still leading race to presidency. The Hankyoreh, 2 April 2012. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
  34. ^ a b "Saenuri underdogs line up against Park". The Korea Herald. 30 April 2012. Retrieved 30 April 2012.
  35. ^ "DUP offers talks with Saenuri over primary". The Korea Herald. 29 April 2012. Retrieved 4 May 2012.
  36. ^ "Governor Kim calls Park 'secretive'". The Korea Times. 26 April 2012. Retrieved 30 April 2012.
  37. ^ "Park's economic advisor elected as floor leader". The Korea Times. 9 May 2012. Retrieved 10 May 2012.
  38. ^ "Was it a 'coup' or a 'revolution'?". The Hankyoreh. 9 August 2012. Retrieved 9 August 2012.
  39. ^ "Park Geun-hye doesn't know South Korea's minimum wage". The Hankyoreh. 9 August 2012. Retrieved 9 August 2012.
  40. ^ Chung Sung-yeop (정성엽) (18 April 2012). "안철수 대안론 탄력…야권 '대선 시계' 빨라졌다". SBS (in Korean). Retrieved 19 April 2012. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
  41. ^ Ahn Chul-soo again hinting at ‘third way’ of doing politics. The Hankyoreh, 29 March 2012. Retrieved 3 April 2012.
  42. ^ "Miracle man to stand for South Korean presidency". Reuters. 19 January 2012. Retrieved 30 April 2012.
  43. ^ Bak Jeong-gyeong (박정경) (10 MJuly 2012). "이정희 대선출마 만지작…민주당과 '대권 거래'?" (in Korean). Munhwa Ilbo. Retrieved 11 July 2012. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
  44. ^ Jun, Ji-hye (09-25-2012). "Former leftist party leader declares presidential bid". The Korea Times. Retrieved 25 September 2012. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  45. ^ Park Seong-wan (박성완) (13 October 2012). (in Korean). Newsis http://www.newsis.com/ar_detail/view.html?ar_id=NISX20121012_0011518718&cID=10301&pID=10300. Retrieved 13 October 2012. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help); Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
  46. ^ Choi, He-suk (4 September 2012). "Ex-prosecutor and social activist joins Dec. race". The Korea Herald. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
  47. ^ 김, 경진 (25 September 2012). "군소후보 대선 출마 선언 잇따라". Korea Broadcasting System. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
  48. ^ Lee, Samuel Songhoon (10-3-2012). "Maverick human rights lawyer to run for president". The Korea Herald. Retrieved 4 October 2012. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  49. ^ Chang Jae-yong (장재용) (17 April 2012). "정몽준•정운찬 출마 가능성 높아". Hankook Ilbo (in Korean). Retrieved 17 April 2012. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
  50. ^ Ex-premier Chung hints at possible run for president. The Korea Times, 12 March 2012. Retrieved 3 April 2012.

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