Presidential elections were held in South Korea on 19 December 2012. They were the sixth presidential elections since democratization and the establishment of the Sixth Republic, and were held under a first-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 president Lee Myung-bak ended on 24 February 2013. According to the Korea Times, 30.7 million people voted with turnout at 75.8%. Park Geun-hye of the Saenuri party was elected the first female South Korean president with 51.6% of the vote opposed to 48.0% for her opponent Moon 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 in 1987 and the first such election in which any candidate won a majority.[2] Moreover, as of the 2022 election, this is the latest South Korean presidential election in which the winning candidate won an absolute majority of the vote.
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.[9] She distanced herself from Lee and led the party towards the center.[10][11] In legislative elections in April 2012, Park guided the party to an upset victory, returning its majority in the National 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 the Democratic United Party and independent supporters of Ahn Cheol-soo, who 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]
Registered candidates
Ballot numbers for party candidates were given according to the candidate's party seat distribution in the National Assembly. Ballot numbers for independent candidates were determined through a random lottery by the National Election Commission.
The 2012 Democratic United Party presidential primary saw an open 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 15:32 KST, naming Moon Jae-in the presidential candidate from the Democratic United Party.[20] After winning the nomination, Moon stated that he would like to join forces with Ahn Cheol-soo.[21]
Kim Yong-hwan, former Member of National Assembly from Gyeonggi
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.
Results
P= Pre-registered electors who voted at Polling booths; M: Pre-registered electors who voted through Mobile devices; D= Party Delegates who voted at the polling booths
Moon Jae-in won the nomination on the first ballot, so no run-off contest was needed.[23]
The first member of the Saenuri Party to officially announce their candidacy was Kim Moon-soo on 22 April. 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. 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 the National 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] Like Kim Moon-soo, Chung is expected to be at a disadvantage to Park.[25] Chung previously declared his candidacy in the 2002 presidential elections but later dropped out to endorse Roh 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 influential politician 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 an open 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 ally Lee Hahn-koo was elected Saenuri's floor leader on 9 May.[36]
During a primary debate on 7 August 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 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 5,000 won, 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]
Lee Jae-oh, Member of National Assembly from Seoul
Chung and Lee, in protest of the controversial primary rule negotiations, withdrew their bids for nomination before the convention.
Results
The official result was announced at Saenuri National Convention, which took place on 20 August 2012 at 05:40 KST, nominating Park Geun-hye as the presidential candidate for the Saenuri Party.[39]
KBS, MBC, and SBS Terrestrial Broadcasting Exit Survey
Candidate
Estimated percentage
Park Geun-hye
50.1%
Moon Jae-in
48.9%
Results
Provinces and cities won by ■ – Park Geun-hye ■ – Moon Jae-inDistricts won by ■ – Park Geun-hye ■ – Moon Jae-inDistricts won by ■ – Park Geun-hye ■ – Moon Jae-inDistricts won by ■ – Park Geun-hye ■ – Moon Jae-in
On 11 December 2012, the Democratic United Party claimed that agents of the Psychological Operations group in the South 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 the Seoul 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, prosecutor Yoon Seok-youl led a special investigation team that looked into the National 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 Minister Hwang 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]
Interference with overseas voters
In June 2021, according to a MBC 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]
^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.
^대선 양자구도, 박근혜 처음으로 안철수 앞서 [Presidential election two-way race: Park Geun-hye first followed by Ahn Cheol-soo] (in Korean). Realmeter. 16 April 2012. Retrieved 30 April 2012.
^Lee Kyeong-tae (이경태) (10 May 2012). 이재오 "당선되면 6개월 내 개헌, 내 임기는 3년으로" [Lee Jae-oh, "If elected, I'll change the constitution in six months and will serve only three years"] (in Korean). OhmyNews. Retrieved 10 May 2012.
^김, 경진 (25 September 2012). "군소후보 대선 출마 선언 잇따라". Korea Broadcasting System. Archived from the original on 3 December 2015. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
^안철수 책 나온뒤 박근혜와 지지율 변화가… [Change in Ahn Cheol-soo's Approval Rating against Park Geun-hye After Ahn's New Book...] (in Korean). JoongAng Ilbo. 23 July 2012. Archived from the original on 23 August 2013. Retrieved 3 August 2012.((cite news)): CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
^대선 지지도, 박근혜-안철수-문재인-김두관 순 박근혜, 양자대결에서 처음으로 안철수 앞서 [Top Finishers of a Presidential Race Poll are Park Geun-hye, Ahn Cheol-soo, and Moon Jae-in. Park Surpasses Ahn for the First Time in a Two-Way Race] (in Korean). OhmyNews. 19 July 2012. Retrieved 3 August 2012.
^대선 다자구도 박근혜 8주 연속 40%대 고공행진 [Park Geun-hye's approval rating in multi-candidate race shoots above 40% for eight consecutive weeks] (in Korean). Realmeter. 4 June 2012. Retrieved 4 June 2012.
^대선후보 양자대결 박근혜 48.5%•안철수 44.7% [Two candidate poll: Park Geun-hye 48.5%, Ahn Cheol-soo 44.7%] (in Korean). Realmeter. 29 May 2012. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
^통합진보당 쇼크…박근혜 대선 지지율 수치가! [Unified Progressive Party's shock ... Park Geun-hye's approval rating!] (in Korean). Realmeter. 17 May 2012. Archived from the original on 1 April 2022. Retrieved 19 May 2012.((cite news)): CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
^통합진보당 '도로 민노당' 지지율로 하락 [Unified Progressive Party approval rating drops, 'Democratic Labour Party again'] (in Korean). Realmeter. 21 May 2012. Retrieved 21 May 2012.
^통합진보당 총선 이후 3주 연속 내리막 [Unified Progressive Party falls for 3 consecutive weeks after election] (in Korean). Realmeter. 14 May 2012. Retrieved 18 May 2012.
^Hwang Bi-woong (황비웅) (11 May 2012). 박근혜 51.3%•안철수 40.7%…朴, 양자대결서 첫 50% 돌파 [Park 51.3%• Ahn 40.7%. Park's approval rate soared over 50% in two candidate poll]. Seoul Sinmun (in Korean). Retrieved 11 May 2012.
^경선불참 소식으로 안철수 원장 지지율 하락 [Director Ahn Cheol-soo's ratings fall on news of election absence] (in Korean). Realmeter. 7 May 2012. Retrieved 7 May 2012.
^이명박 대통령 지지율 4주 연속 하락 [President Lee Myung-bak's approval ratings decline continuously for four weeks] (in Korean). Realmeter. 30 April 2012. Retrieved 30 April 2012.
^박근혜, 오차범위내서 문재인 다시 앞서 [Park Geun-hye again ahead of Moon Jae-in, within margin of error] (in Korean). Realmeter. 13 February 2012. Retrieved 8 May 2012.
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![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](/en/File:Ahn_Cheol-soo_portrait.jpg)
