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1997 South Korean presidential election

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Field	Value
country	Republic of Korea
flag_year	1997
type	presidential
previous_election	1992 South Korean presidential election
previous_year	1992
next_election	2002 South Korean presidential election
next_year	2002
turnout	80.65% ( 1.24pp)
election_date	18 December 1997
image_size	130x130px
image1	Kim Dae-jung presidential portrait.jpg
nominee1	Kim Dae-jung
party1	National Congress for New Politics
popular_vote1	10,326,275
percentage1	40.27%
image2	Lee Hoi-chang (2010).jpg
nominee2	Lee Hoi-chang
party2	Grand National Party
color2
popular_vote2	9,935,718
percentage2	38.75%
image3	2006년 11월 9일 국회의원 이인제 (cropped).jpg
nominee3	Lee In-je
party3	New National
color3	336C77
popular_vote3	4,925,591
percentage3	19.21%
map	{{Switcher
title	President
before_election	Kim Young-sam
before_party	Independent (politician)
after_election	Kim Dae-jung
after_party	National Congress for New Politics

| [[File:1997 Republic of Korea Presidential Election, Municipal-level divisions.svg|300px]] | Results by municipal-level division | [[File:1997 Republic of Korea Presidential Election, Provincial-level divisions.svg|300px]] | Results by provincial-level division

Presidential elections were held in South Korea on 18 December 1997. The result was a victory for opposition candidate Kim Dae-jung, who won with 40% of the vote. When he took office in 1998, it marked the first time in Korean history that the ruling party peacefully transferred power to the opposition party.

Nominations

National Congress for New Politics

The NCNP National Convention was held on 19 May at Olympic Gymnastics Arena. Kim Dae-jung, a former 6-term lawmaker from South Jeolla, was nominated for president, defeating Chyung Dai-chul, a former four-term lawmaker from Seoul.

New Korea Party

The ruling New Korea Party's presidential nominating convention took place on 21 July at Olympic Gymnastics Arena, during which former Prime Minister Lee Hoi-chang defeated former Gyeonggi governor Lee In-je after two rounds of voting and became the party's nominee.

United Liberal Democrats

The ULD National Convention held on 24 June at Olympic Gymnastics Arena overwhelmingly nominated 8-term lawmaker Kim Jong-pil from South Chungcheong for president.

Democratic Party

On 11 September, the Democratic Party, once the premier opposition to the New Koreans but a fringe party ever since the defection of Kim Dae-jung's faction in 1995, nominated Seoul mayor Cho Soon for president.

New National Party

On 4 November, former NKP politicians unhappy with Lee Hoi-chang founded the New National Party and nominated Lee In-je for president. This was after the scandal regarding Lee Hoi-chang's sons being excused from the military service hit the news cycle and brought Lee's popularity down.

Campaign

Main article: Presidential elections in South Korea#Procedure (1987–present)

Early polls showed Lee Hoi-chang leading Kim Dae-jung by as much as 30 percentage points.

Lee Hoi-chang's lead was lost when press reports emerged that Lee's two sons had evaded military conscription by shedding weight before their physical examinations. The South Korean public tends to be intolerant towards men who attempt to evade mandatory military service or receive special treatment. Lee In-je then launched his own bid for the presidency, claiming that Lee Hoi-chang could not win the election and stood for a generational shift in South Korean politics as he was 20 years younger than any candidate in the race. These developments led to Kim leading in the polls by a slender margin.

The election also took place in the context of the IMF crisis where South Korea was forced to accept an IMF bailout on 3 December amidst an economic crash.

Kim Dae-jung and Kim Jong-pil form an alliance

Kim Dae-jung, or "D.J." and Kim Jong-pil, or "J.P." agreed on 3 November to form an alliance against their common enemy, Lee Hoi-chang. In this agreement, JP announced to withdraw his bid for president to endorse DJ, and in turn DJ would appoint JP as the prime minister once elected president. The two Kims also agreed to revise the Constitution after the election from presidential system to parliamentary system, and the NCNP and ULD would cooperate on different issues as a coalition government. Kim Dae-jung shocked his supporters by joining ticket with Kim Jong-pil, a prominent figure within Park Chung-hee’s authoritarian regime during the 1960s and 70s. The Park regime had targeted Kim Dae-jung as a political dissident with assassination attempts and imprisonment.

Anti-Kim Coalition: the Grand National Party

On the other hand, needing a breakthrough as Kim Dae-jung's popularity soared, Lee Hoi-chang and Cho Soon also agreed to combine forces. On 21 November, the New Korea Party and Democratic Party merged into one party, and was founded as the Grand National Party. Cho Soon was made the chairman of the party, and Lee Hoi-chang the candidate for president.

The election was also the first to feature election debates between the candidates.

Results

With a winning margin of 1.52%, the 1997 presidential elections were the closest until the 2022 presidential elections.

By province and city

Province/City	Kim Dae-jung	Lee Hoi-chang	Lee In-je	Kwon Young-ghil	Shin Jeong-yil	Kim Han-sik	Huh Kyung-young	National Congress for New Politics}}"		Grand National Party}}"		Democratic Labor Party (South Korea)}}"		Others}}"		Others}}"
Seoul	National Congress for New Politics}}; color:white;"	2,627,308	National Congress for New Politics}}; color:white;"	44.87	2,394,309	40.89	747,856	12.77	65,656	1.12	5,234	0.09	8,978	0.15	5,432	0.09
Busan	320,178	15.29	Grand National Party}}; color:white;"	1,117,069	Grand National Party}}; color:white;"	53.34	623,756	29.78	25,581	1.22	3,359	0.16	2,211	0.11	2,252	0.11
Daegu	166,576	12.53	Grand National Party}}; color:white;"	965,607	Grand National Party}}; color:white;"	72.65	173,649	13.07	16,258	1.22	4,108	0.31	1,229	0.09	1,661	0.12
Incheon	National Congress for New Politics}}; color:white;"	497,839	National Congress for New Politics}}; color:white;"	38.51	470,560	36.40	297,739	23.03	20,340	1.57	1,862	0.14	2,356	0.18	1,915	0.15
Gwangju	National Congress for New Politics}}; color:white;"	754,159	National Congress for New Politics}}; color:white;"	97.29	13,294	1.71	5,181	0.67	1,478	0.19	273	0.04	660	0.09	154	0.02
Daejeon	National Congress for New Politics}}; color:white;"	307,493	National Congress for New Politics}}; color:white;"	45.03	199,266	29.18	164,374	24.07	8,444	1.24	936	0.14	1,352	0.20	1,028	0.15
Ulsan	80,751	15.42	Grand National Party}}; color:white;"	268,998	Grand National Party}}; color:white;"	51.36	139,824	26.70	32,145	6.14	991	0.19	427	0.08	627	0.12
Gyeonggi	National Congress for New Politics}}; color:white;"	1,781,577	National Congress for New Politics}}; color:white;"	39.28	1,612,108	35.54	1,071,704	23.63	47,608	1.05	7,415	0.16	8,035	0.18	7,077	0.16
Gangwon	197,438	23.76	Grand National Party}}; color:white;"	358,921	Grand National Party}}; color:white;"	43.19	257,140	30.95	8,231	0.99	4,161	0.50	1,851	0.22	3,201	0.39
North Chungcheong	National Congress for New Politics}}; color:white;"	295,666	National Congress for New Politics}}; color:white;"	37.43	243,210	30.79	232,254	29.41	10,232	1.30	3,357	0.43	2,313	0.29	2,784	0.35
South Chungcheong	National Congress for New Politics}}; color:white;"	483,093	National Congress for New Politics}}; color:white;"	48.25	235,457	23.52	261,802	26.15	9,604	0.96	4,122	0.41	4,109	0.41	3,011	0.30
North Jeolla	National Congress for New Politics}}; color:white;"	1,078,957	National Congress for New Politics}}; color:white;"	92.28	53,114	4.54	25,037	2.14	4,189	0.36	1,968	0.17	4,981	0.43	943	0.08
South Jeolla	National Congress for New Politics}}; color:white;"	1,231,726	National Congress for New Politics}}; color:white;"	94.61	41,534	3.19	18,305	1.41	2,199	0.17	2,255	0.17	4,790	0.37	1,027	0.08
North Gyeongsang	210,403	13.67	Grand National Party}}; color:white;"	953,360	Grand National Party}}; color:white;"	61.92	335,087	21.76	22,382	1.45	11,723	0.76	2,476	0.16	4,177	0.27
South Gyeongsang	182,102	11.05	Grand National Party}}; color:white;"	908,808	Grand National Party}}; color:white;"	55.15	515,869	31.30	27,823	1.69	8,047	0.49	2,150	0.13	3,215	0.20
Jeju	National Congress for New Politics}}; color:white;"	111,009	National Congress for New Politics}}; color:white;"	40.58	100,103	36.59	56,014	20.47	3,856	1.41	1,245	0.46	799	0.29	551	0.20
Total	National Congress for New Politics}}; color:white;"	10,326,275	National Congress for New Politics}}; color:white;"	40.27	9,935,718	38.75	4,925,591	19.21	306,026	1.19	61,056	0.24	48,717	0.19	39,055	0.15

References

"IFES Election Guide {{!}} Elections: Korea President 1997".
link. (September 18, 2011)
link. (21 July 1997)
link. (24 June 1997)
link. (11 September 1997)
link. (November 4, 1997)
(10 March 2022). "PPP Candidate Yoon Suk Yeol Wins Presidential Election after Tight Race". [[KBS World]].

Info: Wikipedia Source

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