Presidential and vice-presidential elections were held in
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
on 15 May 1956. The result was a victory for
Syngman Rhee
Syngman Rhee (, ; 26 March 1875 – 19 July 1965) was a South Korean politician who served as the first president of South Korea from 1948 to 1960.
Rhee was also the first and last president of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Ko ...
, who won 70.0% of the vote. Voter turnout was 94.4%.
Rhee, who at that time held a virtual monopoly on political power, was opposed by
Shin Ik-hee
Sin Ik-hui (Hangul: 신익히, hanja: 申翼熙) (9 June 1894 – 5 May 1956) was a Korean independence activist and politician during the period of Korea under Japanese rule, Japanese rule. He was Speaker of the National Assembly of South Korea, ...
and
Cho Bong-am
Cho Bong-am (, 25 September 1898 – 31 July 1959) was a South Korean independence activist and politician, who ran for president in the South Korean presidential election in 1956. He was a founding member of the Communist Party of Korea (조� ...
. Shin died before the election by disease, and Cho campaigned on a platform of peaceful reunification in opposition to Rhee's policy of "March North and unify Korea". Cho exceeded expectations by receiving over 30% of the vote. Three years later, Cho was accused of violating the
National Security Law and executed.
[Kim, p. 42.]
Results
President
By region
Vice-President
By region
References
{{South Korean elections
1956 elections in South Korea
Presidential elections in South Korea