1972 South Korean constitutional referendum

A constitutional referendum was held in South Korea on 21 November 1972.[1] President Park Chung-hee had suspended the constitution and dissolved the National Assembly in October. Work began almost immediately on a new constitution. The finished product, the Yushin Constitution, was a severely authoritarian document that dramatically expanded the president's powers and allowed him to run for an unlimited number of six-year terms. For all intents and purposes, the document concentrated all governing power in Park's hands.

1972 South Korean constitutional referendum
21 November 1972
Results
Choice
Votes %
Yes 13,186,559 92.26%
No 1,106,143 7.74%
Valid votes 14,292,702 99.18%
Invalid or blank votes 118,012 0.82%
Total votes 14,410,714 100.00%
Registered voters/turnout 15,676,395 91.93%

According to official figures, the new document was approved by 92.3% of voters, with a turnout of 91.9%.[2] The adoption of the constitution upon the announcement of the official referendum results ushered in the Fourth Republic of South Korea.

Results

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Choice Votes %
For 13,186,559 92.3
Against 1,106,143 7.7
Invalid/blank votes 118,012
Total 14,410,714 100
Registered voters/turnout 15,676,395 91.9
Source: Nohlen et al.

By province

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Region For % Against % Total Turnout
Seoul 2,045,941 82.5 410,474 16.6 2,479,585 80.5
Busan 772,749 85.0 127,512 14.0 909,346 93.9
Gyeonggi 1,508,712 92.8 104,759 6.4 1,626,187 94.2
North Chungcheong 621,723 92.8 35,453 5.3 662,739 94.9
South Chungcheong 1,213,614 93.4 74,225 5.7 1,298,688 94.8
Gangwon 791,608 95.8 29,715 3.6 826,398 97.1
North Jeolla 1,015,489 93.5 61,186 5.6 1,086,542 94.2
South Jeolla 1,686,340 95.1 74,741 4.2 1,773,221 93.4
North Gyeongsang 1,983,081 94.1 104,873 5.0 2,108,501 95.3
South Gyeongsang 1,383,424 94.4 74,981 5.1 1,466,227 95.3
Jeju 163,885 94.6 8,224 4.7 173,280 94.9
Source: Kyunghyang Shinmun, 23 November 1972

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, p427