South Korean presidential election, 1997

Republic of Korea
presidential election, 1997

19 December 1997

NPP Nominee Kim Dae-jung Lee Hoi-chang Lee In-je Party National Congress Grand National New People Popular vote 10,326,275 9,935,718 4,925,591 Percentage 40.3% 38.7% 19.2%

provinces and cities majority won by ■ – Kim Dae-jung ■ – Lee Hoi-chang

President before election Kim Young-sam Grand National Elected President Kim Dae-jung National Congress

The 15th South Korean Presidential Election took place on 19 December 1997. The opposition presidential candidate Kim Dae-jung won the presidential election, ending almost 36 years of conservative rule. Kim became the first opposition candidate to win the presidency. When he took office in 1998, it also marked the first time in Korean history that an incumbent government peacefully surrendered power to the opposition.

Results

Candidate	Party	Votes	% of votes
Kim Dae-jung	National Congress for New Politics (새정치국민회의)	10,326,275	40.3%
Lee Hoi-chang	Grand National Party (한나라당)	9,935,718	38.7%
Lee In-je	New People Party (국민신당)	4,925,591	19.2%
Kwon Young-ghil	People's Victory for 21st century (건설국민승리21)	306,026	1.2%
Huh Kyung-young	Democratic Republican Party (공화당)	32,918	0.2%
Shin Jeong Yil	Unified Korea Party (한주의통일한국당)	11,901	0.2%
Kim Han-sik	Honest Politics Unite	5,714	0.2%
Invalid ballots		400,195	0.6%
(Total electorate: 32,290,416 - Turnout rate: 80.7%) Total		26,042,633	100%

regions · provinces · cities				NPP
		Kim Dae-jung NCNP	Lee Hoi-chang GNP	Lee In-je NPP
Sudogwon	Seoul	44.9%	40.9%	12.8%
	Incheon	38.5%	36.4%	23.0%
	Gyeonggi	39.3%	35.5%	23.6%
Gangwon		23.8%	43.2%	30.9%
Chungcheong	Daejeon	45.0%	29.2%	24.1%
	Chungcheongbuk	37.4%	30.8%	29.4%
	Chungcheongnam	48.3%	23.5%	26.1%
Honam （Jeolla）	Gwangju	97.3%	1.3%	0.7%
	Jeollabuk	92.3%	4.5%	2.1%
	Jeollanam	94.6%	3.2%	1.4%
Yeongnam （Gyeongsang）	Busan	15.3%	53.3%	29.8%
	Ulsan	15.4%	51.4%	26.7%
	Daegu	12.5%	72.7%	13.1%
	Gyeongsangbuk	13.7%	61.9%	21.8%
	Gyeongsangnam	11.0%	55.1%	31.3%
Jeju		40.6%	36.6%	20.5%

See also

• X-file scandal

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Elections and referendums in South Korea
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