1978 South Korean presidential election

Presidential elections were held in South Korea on 6 July 1978, the second elections held under the Restoration Constitution, which gave the deputies of the National Council for Reunification the power to elect the president.

1978 South Korean presidential election
Presidential election
6 July 1978
2,581 Deputies of Reunification Assembly
1,291 votes needed to win
 
Nominee Park Chung-hee
Party Democratic Republican
Electoral vote 2,577
Reunification Council election
18 May 1978
Party Leader % Seats
Independents Park Chung-hee (de facto) 100% 2,583
This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below.
President before election

Park Chung-hee
Democratic Republican

 Elected President

Park Chung-hee
Democratic Republican

The National Council for Reunification members were elected on 18 May, and the newly sworn-in deputies proceeded to elect the president on 6 July. As in 1972, incumbent President Park Chung-hee was the only candidate. He was duly re-elected with the support of 2,577 of the 2,581 members.[1] Park Chung Hee would continue in office for just over a year before his assassination on 26 October 1979 and the subsequent collapse of the Yushin regime.

National Council for Reunification election

The 2,583 Deputies to the Second National Council for Reunification were elected on 18 May 1978, with a voter turnout of 79%.

Region Turnout % Valid votes Deputies +/–
Seoul 2,754,086 67.8 2,665,140 391 +88
Busan 942,148 77.1 919,727 145 +41
Gyeonggi 1,634,742 78.2 1,593,630 319 +39
Gangwon 764,857 86.9 746,432 151 +6
North Chungcheong 577,877 87.0 562,148 131 +4
South Chungcheong 1,068,658 83.4 1,038,174 235 +4
North Jeolla 905,394 84.9 876,166 203 +3
South Jeolla 1,402,831 81.5 1,356,531 312 0
North Gyeongsang 1,833,990 84.4 1,790,763 379 +25
South Gyeongsang 1,255,860 83.0 1,223,490 290 +12
Jeju 178,633 86.9 173,977 27 +2
Total 13,319,076 78.9 12,946,178 2,583 +224

Presidential election

By the time of the presidential election, one deputy had resigned from office and another had died, meaning there were a total of 2,581 deputies in office on the day of the presidential election.

In order to be elected, a candidate had to receive the vote of over 50% of the incumbent members of the National Council for Reunification. With 2,581 deputies in office, Park had to receive at least 1,291 votes to be elected. He received 2,577 votes, 99.85% of the total possible.

As there was only one candidate registered, the only ways the deputies could express opposition to Park was by either abstaining or casting invalid ballots. The only deputy who cast a protest vote was Park Seung-guk of Daegu-2 District.[2]

Candidate Party Votes %
Park Chung-heeDemocratic Republican Party2,577 99.85
Invalid/blank votes1 –
Total2,578 100
Electorate/turnout 2,581 99.88

Result per region
Region Park Invalid Turnout % Eligible electors Vacant seats Total
Seoul 389 0 389 99.49 391 0 391
Busan 145 0 145 100 145 0 145
Gyeonggi 319 0 319 100 319 0 319
Gangwon 151 0 151 100 151 0 151
North Chungcheong 131 0 131 100 131 0 131
South Chungcheong 234 0 234 100 234 1 235
North Jeolla 203 0 203 100 203 0 203
South Jeolla 312 0 312 100 312 0 312
North Gyeongsang 377 1 378 100 378 1 379
South Gyeongsang 289 0 289 99.66 290 0 290
Jeju 27 0 27 100 27 0 27
Total 2,577 1 2578 99.88 2,581 2 2,583

References
  1. Kleiner, J. (2001) Korea: A Century of Change. World Scientific. p. 164.
  2. "김일 박치기에 온 국민 시름 잊고… '체육관 대통령' 선출 민주주의 시름 겪어". 한국일보 (in Korean). 2015-02-06. Retrieved 2019-03-28.
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