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

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
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.

Results

The 2,583 Deputies to the Second National Council for Reunification were elected on 18 May 1978, with a voter turnout of 79%. However, 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-hee	Democratic Republican	2,577
Invalid/blank votes		1
Absentions		3
Total		2,581

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.