1952 South Korean presidential election

Presidential and vice presidential elections were held in South Korea on 5 August 1952.[1] The result was a victory for Syngman Rhee, who won 74.6% of the vote. Voter turnout was 88.1%.[2] The election was held during the Korean War, which played an important role in consolidating Rhee's support.

1952 South Korean elections

5 August 1952
Presidential election
← 1948
1956 →
 
Candidate Syngman Rhee Cho Bong-am Yi Si-yeong
Party Liberal Independent Democratic Nationalist
Popular vote 5,238,769 797,504 764,715
Percentage 74.62% 11.36% 10.89%

President before election

Syngman Rhee
Liberal

Elected President

Syngman Rhee
Liberal

Vice Presidential election
← 1951
1956 →
 
Candidate Ham Tae-young Lee Beom-seok Chough Pyung-ok
Party Independent Liberal Democratic Nationalist
Popular vote 2,943,813 1,815,692 575,260
Percentage 41.27% 25.45% 8.06%

 
Liberal
KSDP
Candidate Lee Gap-sung Yi Yun-yong
Party Liberal Social Democratic
Popular vote 500,972 458,583
Percentage 7.02% 6.43%

Vice President before election

Kim Seong-su
Liberal

Elected Vice President

Ham Tae-young
Independent

Background

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President Rhee's factions took a devastating blow in the 1950 legislative election, when they won a little more than a quarter of the seats in the National Assembly, combined. In belief he would have little shot at reelection in the opposition-controlled legislature, President Rhee decided to amend the constitution so that the president would be elected by the people, instead of the legislature. President Rhee had the amendment pass in July 1952, after using police and military to threaten lawmakers.[3]

Results

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President

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CandidatePartyVotes%
Syngman RheeLiberal Party5,238,76974.62
Cho Bong-amIndependent797,50411.36
Yi Si-yeongDemocratic Nationalist Party764,71510.89
Shin Heung-uIndependent219,6963.13
Total7,020,684100.00
Valid votes7,020,68496.49
Invalid/blank votes255,1993.51
Total votes7,275,883100.00
Registered voters/turnout8,259,42888.09
Source: Nohlen et al.

By region

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Region Syngman Rhee Cho Bong-am Yi Si-yeong Shin Heung-u
Votes % Votes % Votes % Votes %
Seoul 205,300 82.2 25,631 10.3 14,883 6.0 3,923 1.6
Gyeonggi 657,174 87.7 44,967 6.0 34,704 4.6 12,891 1.7
Gangwon 366,583 92.4 10,516 2.7 13,378 3.4 6,305 1.6
North Chungcheong 386,665 86.7 25,875 5.8 23,006 5.2 10,409 2.3
South Chungcheong 636,061 82.4 56,590 7.3 58,754 7.6 20,947 2.7
North Jeolla 468,220 65.9 109,490 15.4 96,271 13.6 36,221 5.1
South Jeolla 823,587 73.6 99,885 8.9 165,245 14.8 30,677 2.7
North Gyeongsang 921,988 75.0 129,791 10.6 140,271 11.4 37,100 3.0
South Gyeongsang 693,523 55.4 288,654 23.0 211,544 16.9 58,586 4.7
Jeju 79,668 83.8 6,105 6.4 6,659 7.0 2,637 2.8
Total 5,238,769 74.6 797,504 11.4 764,715 10.9 219,696 3.1
Source: National Election Commission[4]

Vice President

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CandidatePartyVotes%
Ham Tae-youngIndependent2,943,81341.27
Lee Beom-seokLiberal Party1,815,69225.45
Chough Pyung-okDemocratic Nationalist Party575,2608.06
Lee Gap-sungLiberal Party Movement500,9727.02
Yi Yun-yongChoseon Democratic Party458,5836.43
Jeon Jin-hanGeneral Alliance of Laborers for Korean Independence302,4714.24
Louise YimLiberal Party Movement190,2112.67
Pak Sung-wookIndependent181,3882.54
Jeong Ki-wonLiberal Party Movement164,9072.31
Total7,133,297100.00
Valid votes7,133,29798.11
Invalid/blank votes137,5851.89
Total votes7,270,882100.00
Registered voters/turnout8,259,42888.03

By region

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Region Ham Tae-young Lee Beom-seok Chough Pyung-ok Lee Gap-sung Yi Yun-yong Jeon Jin-han Louise Yim Pak Sung-wook Jeong Ki-won
Votes % Votes % Votes % Votes % Votes % Votes % Votes % Votes % Votes %
Seoul 70,206 27.6 117,326 46.2 16,429 6.5 13,815 5.4 15,475 6.1 8,911 3.5 4,676 1.8 4,508 1.8 2,727 1.1
Gyeonggi 347,799 45.6 252,090 33.1 27,776 3.6 35,154 4.6 42,038 5.5 21,076 2.8 13,195 1.7 10,547 1.4 12,593 1.7
Gangwon 223,534 55.6 129,704 32.3 5,962 1.5 9,427 2.3 11,555 2.9 10,675 2.7 4,424 1.1 2,811 0.7 3,674 0.9
North Chungcheong 216,223 47.8 130,843 28.9 18,926 4.2 23,190 5.1 24,442 5.4 13,098 2.9 9,094 2.0 7,983 1.8 8,830 2.0
South Chungcheong 118,291 15.1 452,209 57.6 47,482 6.1 34,172 4.4 43,895 5.6 35,057 4.5 21,047 2.7 18,354 2.3 14,287 1.8
North Jeolla 190,246 26.3 235,637 32.5 67,731 9.4 48,554 6.7 63,729 8.8 34,750 4.8 37,024 5.1 24,985 3.5 21,500 3.0
South Jeolla 729,541 64.2 59,318 5.2 125,525 11.0 77,231 6.8 60,658 5.3 23,221 2.0 20,470 1.8 18,031 1.6 22,739 2.0
North Gyeongsang 716,794 57.4 97,256 7.8 100,498 8.1 115,755 9.3 73,684 5.9 50,884 4.1 28,263 2.3 32,719 2.6 31,980 2.6
South Gyeongsang 296,766 23.3 306,982 24.1 161,787 12.7 139,000 10.9 116,260 9.1 100,061 7.9 49,675 3.9 59,079 4.6 43,807 3.4
Jeju 34,413 36.0 34,327 35.9 3,144 3.3 4,674 4.9 6,847 7.2 4,738 5.0 2,343 2.5 2,371 2.5 2,770 2.9
Total 2,943,813 41.3 1,815,692 25.5 575,260 8.1 500,972 7.0 458,583 6.4 302,471 4.2 190,211 2.7 181,388 2.5 164,907 2.3

References

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  1. ^ Dieter Nohlen, Florian Grotz & Christof Hartmann (2001) Elections in Asia: A data handbook, Volume II, p420 ISBN 0-19-924959-8
  2. ^ Nohlen et al., p464
  3. ^ "발췌개헌(拔萃改憲)". Encyclopedia of Korean Culture. Retrieved 2019-03-29.
  4. ^ "개표현황". National Election Commission. Archived from the original on 2017-07-10. Retrieved 14 April 2021.