2022 South Korean presidential election
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Presidential elections A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The pr ...
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 Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...
on 9 March 2022. Under the South Korean constitution,
presidents President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
are restricted to a single five-year term, meaning that incumbent president
Moon Jae-in Moon Jae-in (; ; born 24 January 1953) is a South Korean former politician, civil servant and lawyer who served as the 12th president of South Korea between 2017 and 2022. Prior to his presidency, he served as Senior Secretary for Civil Affairs an ...
was ineligible to run for a second term. Opposition candidate
Yoon Suk-yeol Yoon Suk-yeol (; born 18 December 1960) is a South Korean politician, former public prosecutor and lawyer who has been serving as the 13th and current president of South Korea since 2022. Prior to his presidency, he served as the prosecutor ...
of the People Power Party won the election, defeating candidate
Lee Jae-myung Lee Jae-myung (; born 22 December 1964) is a South Korean politician serving as a member of the National Assembly and the leader of the Democratic Party of Korea. Lee was the nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2022 South Korean presidenti ...
of the incumbent
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...
. Both main parties had unusually intense
primary elections Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the c ...
. Upon its
nomination Nomination is part of the process of selecting a candidate for either election to a public office, or the bestowing of an honor or award. A collection of nominees narrowed from the full list of candidates is a short list. Political office In the ...
of
Lee Jae-myung Lee Jae-myung (; born 22 December 1964) is a South Korean politician serving as a member of the National Assembly and the leader of the Democratic Party of Korea. Lee was the nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2022 South Korean presidenti ...
, the second-place Democratic Party candidate
Lee Nak-yon Lee Nak-yon (; born 20 December 1952), also known as Lee Nak-yeon, is a South Korean politician who served as the 41st Prime Minister of South Korea from 2017 to 2020. A member of the Democratic Party of Korea, he is the longest-serving prime ...
called for an appeal of the results, until being forced to concede. In the PPP, frontrunner Yoon and party chairman
Lee Jun-seok Jun-seok Andy Lee (; born 31 March 1985) is a South Korean politician who served as party leader of the conservative People Power Party. Lee entered politics as a relatively young member of the Park Geun-hye presidential administration, d ...
frequently clashed over Yoon's performance and perceived apathy towards debates with other candidates. The People Party nominated
Ahn Cheol-soo Ahn Cheol-soo ( ; born 26 February 1962) is a South Korean politician, medical doctor, businessperson, and software entrepreneur. He currently serves as a member of the National Assembly as part of the conservative People Power Party. Pri ...
and the Justice Party nominated
Sim Sang-jung Sim Sang-jung (born 20 February 1959) is a South Korean politician and labor rights activist. She was one of the five major presidential candidates in the 2017 South Korean presidential election, running as the Justice Party's nominee. She agai ...
.
Economic inequality There are wide varieties of economic inequality, most notably income inequality measured using the distribution of income (the amount of money people are paid) and wealth inequality measured using the distribution of wealth (the amount of ...
, recovery from the ongoing
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
, antifeminist sentiment and housing issues were prominent topics during the election. Analysts observed increased
political polarization Political polarization (spelled ''polarisation'' in British English) is the divergence of political attitudes away from the center, towards ideological extremes. Most discussions of polarization in political science consider polarization in the ...
, record low popularity amongst the candidates, infighting within both main political parties, as well as a negative or divisive tone throughout campaigning. After discussing a potential merger for some time, Ahn withdrew his campaign on 3 March, 6 days before the election, and endorsed Yoon. In the closest presidential election in South Korean history, Yoon won the most overall votes and the key areas of
Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 of ...
, but lost in
Gyeonggi Gyeonggi-do (, ) is the most populous province in South Korea. Its name, ''Gyeonggi'', means "京 (the capital) and 畿 (the surrounding area)". Thus, ''Gyeonggi-do'' can be translated as "Seoul and the surrounding areas of Seoul". Seoul, the na ...
and Incheon.


Background

After a 2016 political scandal, president
Park Geun-hye Park Geun-hye (; ; often in English ; born 2 February 1952) is a South Korean politician who served as the 11th president of South Korea from 2013 to 2017, until she was impeached and convicted on related corruption charges. Park was the fi ...
was impeached, and snap elections were called for 2017.
Moon Jae-in Moon Jae-in (; ; born 24 January 1953) is a South Korean former politician, civil servant and lawyer who served as the 12th president of South Korea between 2017 and 2022. Prior to his presidency, he served as Senior Secretary for Civil Affairs an ...
of the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...
defeated
Hong Joon-pyo Hong Joon-pyo (born 20 November 1953), also spelled as Hong Jun-pyo, is a South Korean politician and former prosecutor who is the current Mayor of Daegu. He previous served as the governor of South Gyeongsang Province, a member of the Na ...
of the Liberty Korea Party and
Ahn Cheol-soo Ahn Cheol-soo ( ; born 26 February 1962) is a South Korean politician, medical doctor, businessperson, and software entrepreneur. He currently serves as a member of the National Assembly as part of the conservative People Power Party. Pri ...
of the People Party by a wide margin in the May 2017 election, bringing the Democrats back to power after nine years. After three years in office, Moon's position was strengthened by his party's victory in the 2020 legislative election, which gave them an absolute majority of 180 out of 300 seats in the
National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the rep ...
. However, in the 2021 Seoul mayoral by-election, young voters in Seoul, who had traditionally sided with the Democratic Party, voted for the conservative People's Power Party (PPP) by large majorities: by a margin of 55.3 percent to 34.1 percent among voters in their 20s, and 56.5 percent to 38.7 percent among voters in their 30s. The incumbent administration was blamed for the housing crisis in Seoul which affected mostly younger citizens in their 20s and was rooted as the main cause of the Democrats' defeat, along with
antifeminism Antifeminism, also spelled anti-feminism, is opposition to some or all forms of feminism. In the late 19th century and early 20th century, antifeminists opposed particular policy proposals for women's rights, such as the right to vote, educat ...
sentiment among young male voters. This is in part because of the gender imbalance in the population of young people in South Korea. The PPP elected 36-year-old
Lee Jun-seok Jun-seok Andy Lee (; born 31 March 1985) is a South Korean politician who served as party leader of the conservative People Power Party. Lee entered politics as a relatively young member of the Park Geun-hye presidential administration, d ...
as their new party chief in June 2021. Lee's leadership campaign focused on young people and a
big tent A big tent party, or catch-all party, is a term used in reference to a political party's policy of permitting or encouraging a broad spectrum of views among its members. This is in contrast to other kinds of parties, which defend a determined i ...
approach to the electorate, which was seen as a generational shift in
South Korean politics The politics of the Republic of Korea take place in the framework of a presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the president is the head of state, and of a multi-party system. The government exercises executive power and le ...
. Lee had never held a public office. Several parties selected candidates for the presidential election who similarly lacked legislative or executive experience. Commentators observed that this reflected growing public distrust in South Korea's establishment politicians.


Electoral system

The president of South Korea is elected via a single-round plurality voting system, for a term of five years. Incumbent and former presidents are ineligible to seek re-election.


Nominations


Democratic Party

The
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...
(
Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula * Korean cuisine * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl **Korean dialects and the Jeju language ** ...
: 더불어민주당) is the ruling political party of
South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...
following its victories in the 2017 presidential election, 2018 local elections and the 2020 National Assembly election. It should be understood that the Democratic Party, while technically founded in 2014, is part of a lineage of parties that originated from the conservative 1955 Democratic Party. Parties in this lineage gradually shifted their ideology over the course of decades, and the 2022 Democratic Party is considered to be a
big tent A big tent party, or catch-all party, is a term used in reference to a political party's policy of permitting or encouraging a broad spectrum of views among its members. This is in contrast to other kinds of parties, which defend a determined i ...
party comprising both
centrist Centrism is a political outlook or position involving acceptance or support of a balance of social equality and a degree of social hierarchy while opposing political changes that would result in a significant shift of society strongly to Left-w ...
and
liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...
factions. Politicians in this party generally support a
social market economy The social market economy (SOME; german: soziale Marktwirtschaft), also called Rhine capitalism, Rhine-Alpine capitalism, the Rhenish model, and social capitalism, is a socioeconomic model combining a free-market capitalist economic system alon ...
with a strong
social safety net The social safety net (SSN) consists of non-contributory assistance existing to improve lives of vulnerable families and individuals experiencing poverty and destitution. Examples of SSNs are previously-contributory social pensions, in-kind and fo ...
,
anti-corruption measures Anti-corruption (or anticorruption) comprises activities that oppose or inhibit corruption. Just as corruption takes many forms, anti-corruption efforts vary in scope and in strategy. A general distinction between preventive and reactive measu ...
, direct democracy, and
environmentalist An environmentalist is a person who is concerned with and/or advocates for the protection of the environment. An environmentalist can be considered a supporter of the goals of the environmental movement, "a political and ethical movement that se ...
policies. On matters of foreign policy, the party supports reconciliation and eventual reunification with
North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and T ...
. The party is particularly strong in Honam region. The incumbent
president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
Moon Jae-in Moon Jae-in (; ; born 24 January 1953) is a South Korean former politician, civil servant and lawyer who served as the 12th president of South Korea between 2017 and 2022. Prior to his presidency, he served as Senior Secretary for Civil Affairs an ...
, a member of the party, was ineligible to run for reelection due to term limits.


Primary campaign

Following and prior to his victory in the crucial district of
Jongno Jongno or Jong-ro ( ko, 종로), literally meaning "Bell Street", is a trunk road and one of the oldest major east–west thoroughfares in Seoul, South Korea. Jongno connects Gwanghwamun Plaza to Dongdaemun. The area surrounding Jongno is a p ...
in the 2020 legislative election, former
Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...
Lee Nak-yeon Lee Nak-yon (; born 20 December 1952), also known as Lee Nak-yeon, is a South Korean politician who served as the 41st Prime Minister of South Korea from 2017 to 2020. A member of the Democratic Party of Korea, he is the longest-serving prime ...
emerged as the frontrunner for both the Democratic Party's nomination and the general election. Lee, who is celebrated for his expertise on Japanese relations and administrative capabilities he has shown during his time as South Jeolla Provincial Governor and President
Moon Jae-in Moon Jae-in (; ; born 24 January 1953) is a South Korean former politician, civil servant and lawyer who served as the 12th president of South Korea between 2017 and 2022. Prior to his presidency, he served as Senior Secretary for Civil Affairs an ...
's first Prime minister, received wide support from Moon's faction of the party evinced by his landslide victory in the party leadership contest of August 2020. However, Lee's January 2021 proposal to pardon corrupt former conservative presidents
Park Geun-hye Park Geun-hye (; ; often in English ; born 2 February 1952) is a South Korean politician who served as the 11th president of South Korea from 2013 to 2017, until she was impeached and convicted on related corruption charges. Park was the fi ...
and Lee Myung-bak faced backlash and led to a fall in his support.
Gyeonggi Gyeonggi-do (, ) is the most populous province in South Korea. Its name, ''Gyeonggi'', means "京 (the capital) and 畿 (the surrounding area)". Thus, ''Gyeonggi-do'' can be translated as "Seoul and the surrounding areas of Seoul". Seoul, the na ...
Governor
Lee Jae-Myung Lee Jae-myung (; born 22 December 1964) is a South Korean politician serving as a member of the National Assembly and the leader of the Democratic Party of Korea. Lee was the nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2022 South Korean presidenti ...
, who ran a left-wing populist campaign for president in
2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...
while Mayor of
Seongnam Seongnam () is the fourth largest city in South Korea's Gyeonggi Province after Suwon and the 10th largest city in the country. Its population is approximately one million. Seongnam is a satellite city of Seoul. It is largely a residential ci ...
, has emerged as the most popular prospective candidate across parties as a result of his well-received response to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
and his proposal for a
universal basic income Universal basic income (UBI) is a social welfare proposal in which all citizens of a given population regularly receive an unconditional transfer payment, that is, without a means test or need to work. It would be received independently of a ...
. Moon's second prime minister,
Chung Sye-kyun Chung Sye-kyun () is a South Korean politician who has served as Speaker of the National Assembly from 2016 to 2018 and Prime Minister of South Korea from 2020 to 2021. He was previously leader of the main opposition Democratic Party between 2 ...
, also resigned to run for the presidency. The primary campaign saw clashes which became increasingly heated between Lee Nak-yeon and Lee Jae-myung.


Primary schedule and process

The nominating primaries were scheduled to be held in September 2021, although representatives of the
Lee Nak-yon Lee Nak-yon (; born 20 December 1952), also known as Lee Nak-yeon, is a South Korean politician who served as the 41st Prime Minister of South Korea from 2017 to 2020. A member of the Democratic Party of Korea, he is the longest-serving prime ...
and
Chung Sye-kyun Chung Sye-kyun () is a South Korean politician who has served as Speaker of the National Assembly from 2016 to 2018 and Prime Minister of South Korea from 2020 to 2021. He was previously leader of the main opposition Democratic Party between 2 ...
campaigns called for the primaries to be delayed to November. The calls to delay the primary are seen to be attempts to prevent frontrunner
Lee Jae-myung Lee Jae-myung (; born 22 December 1964) is a South Korean politician serving as a member of the National Assembly and the leader of the Democratic Party of Korea. Lee was the nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2022 South Korean presidenti ...
from getting the nomination, as he is the most preferred candidate among the public and the party. On 25 June, the party's supreme council decided to hold the primary as scheduled by 10 September. The timetable for the process was as follows: * 28 to 30 June – Registration of candidates * 9 to 11 July – Preliminary primary involving a 50:50 survey of the general public and party members * 11 July – announcement of the top six candidates eligible for the main primary * Before 10 September – Announcement of primary result and party nominee On 19 July, the party announced a delay in the final selection of candidates to mid-October due to an upsurge in COVID-19 cases in South Korea. Following the completion of the nationwide primaries on 10 October 2021, Lee Jae-myung was announced as the party's candidate for president.


=Primary results

= The votes above only count the votes cast for the four candidates who stayed in the race up to the final round of the primary and does not include votes received by Chung Sye-kyun and Kim Doo-kwan, who both dropped out midway. Before dropping out, Chung had received 23,731 votes and Kim received 4,411 votes. On 10 October, following the announcement of Lee Jae-myung's nomination, Lee Nak-yeon campaign stated they would appeal the results. A day later, the campaign submitted a formal appeal to the party. Rep. Hong Young-pyo, co-chair of the Lee Nak-yeon campaign, said that the votes of Kim and Chung should be included in the final result, in which case Lee Jae-myung's vote share would be reduced to 49.32% and run-off would be required. However, party chairman
Song Young-gil Song Young Gil (; born 21 March 1963) is a South Korean politician who served as the Leader of the centre- liberal Democratic Party from 2 May 2021 until 10 March 2022. He was Member of the National Assembly, as well as the Chairman of the Fore ...
told reporters he would reject the appeal and urged the former prime minister to concede. Song added that the specific clause of excluding votes received by withdrawn candidates from the final tally was approved during the party convention of August 2020 when Lee Nak-yeon himself was elected party chairman. On 13 October, the Party Affairs committee, with 64 of the 76 panel members attending, voted by acclamation to dismiss the appeal. Lee Nak-yeon formally conceded and vowed to do his part to ensure the party's victory in the March election.


Candidate

*
Lee Jae-myung Lee Jae-myung (; born 22 December 1964) is a South Korean politician serving as a member of the National Assembly and the leader of the Democratic Party of Korea. Lee was the nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2022 South Korean presidenti ...
, Governor of Gyeonggi (2018–2021) and former Mayor of
Seongnam Seongnam () is the fourth largest city in South Korea's Gyeonggi Province after Suwon and the 10th largest city in the country. Its population is approximately one million. Seongnam is a satellite city of Seoul. It is largely a residential ci ...
(2010–2018) (Announced bid on 1 July, won nomination on 10 October)


Other primary candidates

The following individuals were candidates for the Democratic party primaries until the conclusion of the nomination process on 10 October, in sequence of announcement of candidacy: *
Lee Nak-yeon Lee Nak-yon (; born 20 December 1952), also known as Lee Nak-yeon, is a South Korean politician who served as the 41st Prime Minister of South Korea from 2017 to 2020. A member of the Democratic Party of Korea, he is the longest-serving prime ...
, former member of the
National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the rep ...
(2000–2014, 2016–2021), former
Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...
(2017–2020), former Governor of South Jeolla (2014–2017) and former leader of the
Democratic Party of Korea The Democratic Party of Korea (DPK; ), formerly known as the New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD), is a liberal political party in South Korea. Controlling the unicameral National Assembly as of 2022, the DPK is regarded as one of two m ...
(2020–2021) * Park Yong-jin, member of the National Assembly (2016–present) *
Choo Mi-ae Choo Mi-ae (; born 23 October 1958) is a South Korean politician who served as the Minister of Justice as well as five-term parliamentarian and 3rd leader of Democratic Party. She is the first woman to hold the post after Kang Kum-sil who ...
, former
Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...
(2020–2021), former member of the
National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the rep ...
(1996–2004, 2008–2020) and former leader of the
Democratic Party of Korea The Democratic Party of Korea (DPK; ), formerly known as the New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD), is a liberal political party in South Korea. Controlling the unicameral National Assembly as of 2022, the DPK is regarded as one of two m ...
(2016–2018) File:South Korean Prime Minister Lee - 2017 (36235112603) (cropped).jpg,
Lee Nak-yeon Lee Nak-yon (; born 20 December 1952), also known as Lee Nak-yeon, is a South Korean politician who served as the 41st Prime Minister of South Korea from 2017 to 2020. A member of the Democratic Party of Korea, he is the longest-serving prime ...
(announced 5 July 2021) File:박용진 의원 "이재용 부회장 대법원 판결 전 철저한 수사 선결돼야" 59s.jpg, Park Yong-jin (announced 9 May 2021) File:Choo Mi-ae ministerial portrait.png,
Choo Mi-ae Choo Mi-ae (; born 23 October 1958) is a South Korean politician who served as the Minister of Justice as well as five-term parliamentarian and 3rd leader of Democratic Party. She is the first woman to hold the post after Kang Kum-sil who ...
(announced 23 June 2021)


Eliminated candidates

On 11 July 2021, Democratic Party of Korea narrowed its primary candidates down to six in the first round of the party primary. As a result, two candidates were eliminated. * Yang Seung-jo, Governor of South Chungcheong (2018–present), former member of the
National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the rep ...
(2004–2018) *
Choi Moon-soon Choi Moon-soon (born February 4, 1956, Nickname: Moonsoonc) was the governor of Gangwon Province. Career After graduating the university, he worked as an investigative journalist of the Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) network for almost ...
, Governor of Gangwon Province (2011–present), former member of the
National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the rep ...
(2008–2011) File:양승조 충남도지사.jpg, Yang Seung-jo (announced 12 May 2021) File:최문순 강원도지사.jpg,
Choi Moon-soon Choi Moon-soon (born February 4, 1956, Nickname: Moonsoonc) was the governor of Gangwon Province. Career After graduating the university, he worked as an investigative journalist of the Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) network for almost ...
(announced 1 June 2021)


Withdrawn candidates

* Lee Kwang-jae, member of the National Assembly (2004–2010, 2020–present), former Governor of Gangwon (2010–2011)(announced 27 May 2021, withdrew on 5 July and endorsed Chung Sye-kyun) *
Chung Sye-kyun Chung Sye-kyun () is a South Korean politician who has served as Speaker of the National Assembly from 2016 to 2018 and Prime Minister of South Korea from 2020 to 2021. He was previously leader of the main opposition Democratic Party between 2 ...
, former
Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...
(2020–2021), former Speaker of the National Assembly (2016–2018), former member of the
National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the rep ...
(2004–2020) (announced 17 June 2021, withdrew on 13 September) *
Kim Doo-kwan Kim Doo-kwan ( ko, 김두관, RR: ''Gim Du-gwan'', Hanja: 金斗官; born 10 April 1959) is a South Korean Democratic United Party politician, former civil servant, and former governor of South Gyeongsang Province. He was elected governor in t ...
, member of the National Assembly (2016–present), former Governor of South Gyeongsang (2010–2012), former Minister of Government Administration and Home Affairs (2003) (announced candidacy 1 July 2021, withdrew on 26 September and endorsed
Lee Jae-myung Lee Jae-myung (; born 22 December 1964) is a South Korean politician serving as a member of the National Assembly and the leader of the Democratic Party of Korea. Lee was the nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2022 South Korean presidenti ...
) File:Portrait gray.png, Lee Kwang-jae File:Donald_Trump_and_Chung_Sye-kyun_(cropped2).jpg,
Chung Sye-kyun Chung Sye-kyun () is a South Korean politician who has served as Speaker of the National Assembly from 2016 to 2018 and Prime Minister of South Korea from 2020 to 2021. He was previously leader of the main opposition Democratic Party between 2 ...
File:Portrait gray.png,
Kim Doo-kwan Kim Doo-kwan ( ko, 김두관, RR: ''Gim Du-gwan'', Hanja: 金斗官; born 10 April 1959) is a South Korean Democratic United Party politician, former civil servant, and former governor of South Gyeongsang Province. He was elected governor in t ...


People Power Party

The People Power Party (
Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula * Korean cuisine * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl **Korean dialects and the Jeju language ** ...
: 국민의힘) is the current iteration of a long line of Korean conservative parties that, throughout modern Korean history, rivaled the long line of parties in the Democratic Party lineage. The party was formally established in 2020 following a merger of multiple conservative parties created in the fallout of the 2016 South Korean corruption scandal that led to the fall of conservative
president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
Park Geun-hye Park Geun-hye (; ; often in English ; born 2 February 1952) is a South Korean politician who served as the 11th president of South Korea from 2013 to 2017, until she was impeached and convicted on related corruption charges. Park was the fi ...
and her
Saenuri Party The Liberty Korea Party () was a conservative political party in South Korea that was described variously as right-wing, right-wing populist, or far-right. Until February 2017, it was known as the Saenuri Party (), and before that as the Han ...
. In the 2017 presidential election, the party's legal predecessor nominated
right-wing populist Right-wing populism, also called national populism and right-wing nationalism, is a political ideology that combines right-wing politics and populist rhetoric and themes. Its rhetoric employs anti- elitist sentiments, opposition to the Establ ...
Hong Jun-pyo Hong Joon-pyo (born 20 November 1953), also spelled as Hong Jun-pyo, is a South Korean politician and former prosecutor who is the current Mayor of Daegu, Mayor of Daegu. He previous served as the governor of South Gyeongsang Province, a membe ...
, who went on to lose the election to
liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...
Moon Jae-in Moon Jae-in (; ; born 24 January 1953) is a South Korean former politician, civil servant and lawyer who served as the 12th president of South Korea between 2017 and 2022. Prior to his presidency, he served as Senior Secretary for Civil Affairs an ...
. The party lost further ground in the 2020 National Assembly election. However, the party has since regained ground after retaking the mayor's offices of Seoul and Busan in the
2021 South Korean by-elections The 2021 South Korean by-elections were held in South Korea on 7 April 2021. The National Election Commission announced on 2 March 2021, that the by-elections would be held for 21 public offices or electoral districts, including 2 Metropolitan ...
. On matters of policy, politicians in this party generally support
liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...
economic policies (including support for '' chaebols'', the industrial conglomerates that dominate the
South Korean economy The economy of South Korea is a Developed country, highly developed mixed economy. By nominal GDP, it has the List of countries by GDP (nominal), 5th largest economy in Asia and the List of countries by GDP (nominal), 13th largest in the worl ...
) and hold conservative positions on national security, including
hawkish In politics, a war hawk, or simply hawk, is someone who favors war or continuing to escalate an existing conflict as opposed to other solutions. War hawks are the opposite of doves. The terms are derived by analogy with the birds of the same name ...
stances on
North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and T ...
. The party is particularly strong in the southeastern Gyeongsang region. Under new party chairman
Lee Jun-seok Jun-seok Andy Lee (; born 31 March 1985) is a South Korean politician who served as party leader of the conservative People Power Party. Lee entered politics as a relatively young member of the Park Geun-hye presidential administration, d ...
's plans for a '
big tent A big tent party, or catch-all party, is a term used in reference to a political party's policy of permitting or encouraging a broad spectrum of views among its members. This is in contrast to other kinds of parties, which defend a determined i ...
' approach for the party's appeal to the electorate and desire to unify opposition forces against the Democratic Party, up to 14 individuals have declared or expressed interest in running for the PPP nomination. Another opposition candidate Ahn Cheol-soo is not a member of the PPP.


Primary campaign

Yoon Suk-yeol Yoon Suk-yeol (; born 18 December 1960) is a South Korean politician, former public prosecutor and lawyer who has been serving as the 13th and current president of South Korea since 2022. Prior to his presidency, he served as the prosecutor ...
, was seen as the frontrunner for the party's nomination since early 2020 despite not initially being a member of the party. Yoon led a January 2021 opinion poll as the most favored presidential candidate at 30.4 percent, over the ruling Democratic Party's
Lee Jae-myung Lee Jae-myung (; born 22 December 1964) is a South Korean politician serving as a member of the National Assembly and the leader of the Democratic Party of Korea. Lee was the nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2022 South Korean presidenti ...
and
Lee Nak-yeon Lee Nak-yon (; born 20 December 1952), also known as Lee Nak-yeon, is a South Korean politician who served as the 41st Prime Minister of South Korea from 2017 to 2020. A member of the Democratic Party of Korea, he is the longest-serving prime ...
. Yoon had expressed interest in joining the party, but had also not ruled out the possibility of creating his own party and then forging an electoral alliance with the PPP afterwards. After officially declaring his candidacy on 29 June 2021, Yoon officially joined the PPP on 30 July. At one point, former
Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...
Hwang Kyo-ahn Hwang Kyo-ahn (; born 15 April 1957) is a South Korean politician and prosecutor who served as acting president of South Korea from 9 December 2016 to 10 May 2017 and the 40th prime minister of South Korea from 18 June 2015 to 11 May 2017. Hwa ...
, a longtime prosecutor who entered politics as
Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...
and later became acting
President of South Korea The president of the Republic of Korea (), also known as the president of South Korea (often abbreviated to POTROK or POSK; ), is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of Korea. The president leads the State Council, and is ...
following
Park Geun-hye Park Geun-hye (; ; often in English ; born 2 February 1952) is a South Korean politician who served as the 11th president of South Korea from 2013 to 2017, until she was impeached and convicted on related corruption charges. Park was the fi ...
's removal from office, was briefly seen as the most likely right-wing candidate for the 2022 presidential election during a period in 2019. However, his high-profile defeat in the
2020 South Korean legislative election Legislative elections were held in South Korea on 15 April 2020. All 300 members of the National Assembly were elected, 253 from first-past-the-post constituencies and 47 from proportional party lists. They were the first elections held under ...
in the crucial
Jongno Jongno or Jong-ro ( ko, 종로), literally meaning "Bell Street", is a trunk road and one of the oldest major east–west thoroughfares in Seoul, South Korea. Jongno connects Gwanghwamun Plaza to Dongdaemun. The area surrounding Jongno is a p ...
district by Democratic 2022 presidential candidate and former
Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...
Lee Nak-yeon Lee Nak-yon (; born 20 December 1952), also known as Lee Nak-yeon, is a South Korean politician who served as the 41st Prime Minister of South Korea from 2017 to 2020. A member of the Democratic Party of Korea, he is the longest-serving prime ...
obliterated his standing in national polling. Representative
Hong Jun-pyo Hong Joon-pyo (born 20 November 1953), also spelled as Hong Jun-pyo, is a South Korean politician and former prosecutor who is the current Mayor of Daegu, Mayor of Daegu. He previous served as the governor of South Gyeongsang Province, a membe ...
, the conservative opponent of Moon in
2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...
, is seeking the PPP nomination again for 2022. Former
National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the rep ...
member Yoo Seong-min, one of the most prominent conservative opponents of
Park Geun-hye Park Geun-hye (; ; often in English ; born 2 February 1952) is a South Korean politician who served as the 11th president of South Korea from 2013 to 2017, until she was impeached and convicted on related corruption charges. Park was the fi ...
and a co-founder of the breakaway
Bareun Party The Bareun Party () was a conservative political party in South Korea, announced on 27 December 2016 with the defection of 29 anti-Park Saenuri Party lawmakers. It was known as the Conservative New Party for Reform until 8 January 2017. Histor ...
in 2016, announced his candidacy in May 2020.
Choi Jae-hyung Choi Jae-hyung (Korean: 최재형, born 2 September 1956) is a South Korean politician and retired judge who served as the Chairman of the Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI) from 2018 to 2021. He is a member of the National Assembly. Early ...
, former Chairman of the Board of Audit and Inspection, joined the party on 15 July 2021. On 26 July, Choi officially registered his candidacy with the National Election Commission. On 30 July, upon frontrunner Yoon Suk-yeol's entrance into the People Power Party, Choi personally welcomed Yoon in a small COVID-19-aware media ceremony.
Chang Sŏng-min Jang Sung-min (; born 5 September 1963) is a South Korean politician. He was formerly the president of the Grand National Unity Party. Biography Jang was born in Goheung County, South Jeolla Province. He started his political career under ...
, former aide to president
Kim Dae-jung Kim Dae-jung (; ; 6 January 192418 August 2009), was a South Korean politician and activist who served as the eighth president of South Korea from 1998 to 2003. He was a 2000 Nobel Peace Prize recipient for his work for democracy and human ...
and former member of the National Assembly (2000–2002) joined PPP on 2 August and announced his candidacy on 15 August 2021. In August 2021, the primary campaign was marked by clashes between party chairman Lee and frontrunner Yoon. Yoon was accused of snubbing planned debates between the primary contenders mooted by Lee and the party leadership as Yoon was allegedly unprepared for debate questioning, including scandals involving his family and lacking broad knowledge on various social issues, as evidenced by gaffes made during the campaign. Yoon attacked Lee, calling him "self-righteous" while Lee hit back and said Yoon was uncooperative with the party leadership. In addition, Lee was also accused of being partial and taking sides, regarded as unbecoming of a party chairman's role. Other PPP candidates waded into the issue and criticised Yoon. Yoon was charged by the
Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials The Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (), or CIO in short, is an independent agency of the South Korean government responsible for prosecuting crimes and investigating allegations involving "high-ranking officials" or the ...
(CIO) on multiple charges, including abuse of power on 10 September, for allegedly prodding the PPP to lodge criminal complaints against pro-government figures ahead of the April 2020 parliamentary elections to possibly influence the polls. By this point, Yoon was no longer a stable frontrunner for the PPP nomination, instead, 2017 candidate
Hong Jun-pyo Hong Joon-pyo (born 20 November 1953), also spelled as Hong Jun-pyo, is a South Korean politician and former prosecutor who is the current Mayor of Daegu, Mayor of Daegu. He previous served as the governor of South Gyeongsang Province, a membe ...
had overtaken Yoon according to several opinion polls. During the campaign, Yoon made a series of controversial statements which took a toll on his support: * Criticizing the Moon administration's 52-hour work week policy, Yoon called for more flexibility for corporate managers, saying that, for example, employees at a game development studio should be able to work up to 120 hours a week during peak season and given ample downtime when work was slow. (Currently, South Korea already has among the longest working hours among the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) member states) * Implying that the growing feminist movement in South Korea was a factor in the country's low birthrate * "Poor people should be allowed to choose to have inferior food to eat at lower prices", in reference to government regulations and food safety. * On Japan's Fukushima power plant, that "basically radiation leaks did not occur as the power plant itself wasn't destroyed." * In October 2021, Yoon said of former president and dictator
Chun Doo-hwan Chun Doo-hwan (; or ; 18 January 1931 – 23 November 2021) was a South Korean army general and military dictator who ruled as an unelected strongman from 1979 to 1980 before replacing Choi Kyu-hah as president of South Korea from 1980 to 198 ...
, "Many people still consider Chun as having done well in politics, except the military coup and the Gwangju Uprising," and added the claim that some people in the southwestern region of Honam, which includes Gwangju, also think that way. This comment was criticized by both the Democratic party and even within the PPP. To make matters worse, after Yoon made a reluctant apology, a photo posted on Instagram of his dog being fed an apple caused controversy. In Korean, "apology" and "apple" are homonyms and the fact that Yoon's dog was given the fruit only hours after the public apology led to criticism that Yoon was not truly sorry and dismissed the people as dogs.


=Primary results

=


Candidate

*
Yoon Suk-yeol Yoon Suk-yeol (; born 18 December 1960) is a South Korean politician, former public prosecutor and lawyer who has been serving as the 13th and current president of South Korea since 2022. Prior to his presidency, he served as the prosecutor ...
, former
Prosecutor General of South Korea The Prosecutor General of South Korea () is the head of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office of the Republic of Korea. Duties The duties are mentioned under the "Prosecutors' Office Act" ( ko, 검찰청법) enacted since 10 March 1993. Since 31 De ...
(2019–2021) (announced bid on 29 June 2021, won nomination on 5 November 2021)


Other candidates

The following individuals were candidates until the conclusion of the nomination process on 5 November where Yoon Suk-yeol was announced the winner. *
Hong Jun-pyo Hong Joon-pyo (born 20 November 1953), also spelled as Hong Jun-pyo, is a South Korean politician and former prosecutor who is the current Mayor of Daegu, Mayor of Daegu. He previous served as the governor of South Gyeongsang Province, a membe ...
, member of the
National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the rep ...
(1996–1999, 2001–2012, 2020–present), former Governor of South Gyeongsang (2012–2017), former leader of the
Grand National Party The Liberty Korea Party () was a conservative political party in South Korea that was described variously as right-wing, right-wing populist, or far-right. Until February 2017, it was known as the Saenuri Party (), and before that as the Hanna ...
(2011) and the Liberty Korea Party (2017–2018), and 2017 presidential nominee of the Liberty Korea Party. * Yoo Seong-min, former member of the
National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the rep ...
(2005–2020), 2017 presidential nominee of the
Bareun Party The Bareun Party () was a conservative political party in South Korea, announced on 27 December 2016 with the defection of 29 anti-Park Saenuri Party lawmakers. It was known as the Conservative New Party for Reform until 8 January 2017. Histor ...
, former leader of the
Bareunmirae Party The Bareunmirae Party (), also known as the Bareun Mirae Party and Bareun Future Party, was a South Korean liberal-conservative political party. It was founded in 2018 by merger of the centrist liberal People's Party and the conservative Bareu ...
(2018), and former leader of the
Bareun Party The Bareun Party () was a conservative political party in South Korea, announced on 27 December 2016 with the defection of 29 anti-Park Saenuri Party lawmakers. It was known as the Conservative New Party for Reform until 8 January 2017. Histor ...
(2017–2018). * Won Hee-ryong, Governor of Jeju (2014–2021) and former member of the National Assembly (2000–2012) File:Shinzō Abe and Hong Jun-pyo at the Japanese Prime Minister's Office (cropped).jpg,
Hong Jun-pyo Hong Joon-pyo (born 20 November 1953), also spelled as Hong Jun-pyo, is a South Korean politician and former prosecutor who is the current Mayor of Daegu, Mayor of Daegu. He previous served as the governor of South Gyeongsang Province, a membe ...
(announced 28 June 2021) File:강릉 산불 바른정당 유승민 동부지방산림청장 고기연 강릉시장 최명희 2017-05-07 10.23.03 (cropped).jpg, Yoo Seong-min (announced 26 May 2020) File:Won Heeryong - 2 in 2016 (cropped).jpg, Won Hee-ryong (announced 11 October 2020)
The following 4 candidates were eliminated on 8 October. *
Ha Tae-keung Ha Tae-keung ( Korean: 하태경, born 26 April 1968) is South Korean activist and politician who is currently a member of National Assembly representing the 1st constituency of Haeundae District in Busan. He has served as Vice President of the ...
, member of the National Assembly (2012–present) *
Hwang Kyo-ahn Hwang Kyo-ahn (; born 15 April 1957) is a South Korean politician and prosecutor who served as acting president of South Korea from 9 December 2016 to 10 May 2017 and the 40th prime minister of South Korea from 18 June 2015 to 11 May 2017. Hwa ...
, former
Acting President An acting president is a person who temporarily fills the role of a country's president when the incumbent president is unavailable (such as by illness or a vacation) or when the post is vacant (such as for death, injury, resignation, dismissal ...
(2017), former
Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...
(2015–2017), former
Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...
(2013–2015), former leader of the Liberty Korea Party (2019–2020), and former leader of the Future United Party (2020) * Ahn Sang-soo, former member of the
National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the rep ...
(1999–2000, 2015–2020), former
mayor of Incheon The Mayor of Incheon () is the head of the local government of Incheon who is elected to a four-year term. List of mayors Appointed mayors (before 1995) From 1945 to 1995, the Mayor of Incheon was appointed by the President of South Korea, P ...
(2002–2010) *
Choi Jae-hyung Choi Jae-hyung (Korean: 최재형, born 2 September 1956) is a South Korean politician and retired judge who served as the Chairman of the Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI) from 2018 to 2021. He is a member of the National Assembly. Early ...
, former judge and Chairman of the Board of Audit and Inspection (2018–2021) (Subsequently, endorsed Hong Jun-pyo on 16 October) File:하태경.png,
Ha Tae-keung Ha Tae-keung ( Korean: 하태경, born 26 April 1968) is South Korean activist and politician who is currently a member of National Assembly representing the 1st constituency of Haeundae District in Busan. He has served as Vice President of the ...
(announced 11 June 2021) File:Hwang Kyo-ahnrio.jpg,
Hwang Kyo-ahn Hwang Kyo-ahn (; born 15 April 1957) is a South Korean politician and prosecutor who served as acting president of South Korea from 9 December 2016 to 10 May 2017 and the 40th prime minister of South Korea from 18 June 2015 to 11 May 2017. Hwa ...
(announced 1 July 2021) File:Jae-Hyeong Choi.jpg (cropped).jpg,
Choi Jae-hyung Choi Jae-hyung (Korean: 최재형, born 2 September 1956) is a South Korean politician and retired judge who served as the Chairman of the Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI) from 2018 to 2021. He is a member of the National Assembly. Early ...
(announced 4 August 2021)
The following candidates were eliminated by a party cut-off process on 15 September. *, former leader of the Green Social Democratic Party (announced 6 July 2021) *
Chang Sŏng-min Jang Sung-min (; born 5 September 1963) is a South Korean politician. He was formerly the president of the Grand National Unity Party. Biography Jang was born in Goheung County, South Jeolla Province. He started his political career under ...
, 2017 National Grand Unification Party presidential nominee and former member of the National Assembly (2000–2002) (announced on 15 August 2021)


Withdrawn candidates

* Yun Hee-suk, member of the National Assembly (2020–2021) (announced 2 July 2021, ended campaign on 25 August) * Kim Tae-ho, member of the National Assembly (2011–2016, 2020–present) and former Governor of South Gyeongsang (2002–2010) (announced 15 July 2021, ended campaign on 17 August)


Did not run

Amid reports of a dossier detailing illegal activities of Yoon Suk-yeol and his family in late June 2021, Seoul Mayor
Oh Se-hoon Oh Se-hoon ( Korean: 오세훈, Hanja: 吳世勳; born January 4, 1961) is a South Korean politician who is currently the serving Mayor of Seoul since 8 April 2021. He also previously served as a member of the National Assembly of South Kore ...
, who had recently won the April 2021 mayoral by-election, was speculated to join the primary race if Yoon dropped out. Ultimately this did not materialize. Another candidate who intended to run for the PPP nomination was
Ahn Cheol-soo Ahn Cheol-soo ( ; born 26 February 1962) is a South Korean politician, medical doctor, businessperson, and software entrepreneur. He currently serves as a member of the National Assembly as part of the conservative People Power Party. Pri ...
, founder and leader of the People Party. Ahn, a former medical doctor, software engineer and
National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the rep ...
member who is known for his
centrist Centrism is a political outlook or position involving acceptance or support of a balance of social equality and a degree of social hierarchy while opposing political changes that would result in a significant shift of society strongly to Left-w ...
views, is considered a possible candidate following his performance in the 2017 presidential election. Ahn had also recently run for
Mayor of Seoul The Mayor of Seoul () is the chief executive of Seoul Metropolitan Government, Seoul being the capital and largest city of South Korea. The position is historically one of the most powerful in the country, charged with managing an annual budge ...
in the 2021 by-elections, but had pulled out of the race and supported PPP candidate
Oh Se-hoon Oh Se-hoon ( Korean: 오세훈, Hanja: 吳世勳; born January 4, 1961) is a South Korean politician who is currently the serving Mayor of Seoul since 8 April 2021. He also previously served as a member of the National Assembly of South Kore ...
after losing opinion surveys to Oh, who would go on to win the race. On 22 June 2021, Ahn began negotiations with the PPP and its party leader
Lee Jun-seok Jun-seok Andy Lee (; born 31 March 1985) is a South Korean politician who served as party leader of the conservative People Power Party. Lee entered politics as a relatively young member of the Park Geun-hye presidential administration, d ...
, reportedly considering a merger between his People Party and the PPP and a bid for the presidency on the PPP ticket. These negotiations ended unsuccessfully on 16 August due to disagreements on party-level issues such as proposed changes to the PPP's name and method of picking a 2022 candidate. Ahn later ran as a third-party nominee with the People Party before dropping out and endorsing Yoon Suk-yeol. *
Oh Se-hoon Oh Se-hoon ( Korean: 오세훈, Hanja: 吳世勳; born January 4, 1961) is a South Korean politician who is currently the serving Mayor of Seoul since 8 April 2021. He also previously served as a member of the National Assembly of South Kore ...
,
Mayor of Seoul The Mayor of Seoul () is the chief executive of Seoul Metropolitan Government, Seoul being the capital and largest city of South Korea. The position is historically one of the most powerful in the country, charged with managing an annual budge ...
(2021–present, 2006–2011) and former member of the National Assembly (2000–2004) *
Ahn Cheol-soo Ahn Cheol-soo ( ; born 26 February 1962) is a South Korean politician, medical doctor, businessperson, and software entrepreneur. He currently serves as a member of the National Assembly as part of the conservative People Power Party. Pri ...
, 2017 People's Party presidential nominee, leader of the People Party, former member of the National Assembly (2013–2017), and founder of AhnLab, Inc. File:AhnCheolSoo2022.png,
Ahn Cheol-soo Ahn Cheol-soo ( ; born 26 February 1962) is a South Korean politician, medical doctor, businessperson, and software entrepreneur. He currently serves as a member of the National Assembly as part of the conservative People Power Party. Pri ...


Justice Party

The Justice Party (
Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula * Korean cuisine * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl **Korean dialects and the Jeju language ** ...
: 정의당) is a
centre-left Centre-left politics lean to the left on the left–right political spectrum but are closer to the centre than other left-wing politics. Those on the centre-left believe in working within the established systems to improve social justice. The ...
, social democratic and progressive party that was founded in October 2012. The party has been the third largest party in the National Assembly after the 2020 election.


Candidate

*
Sim Sang-jung Sim Sang-jung (born 20 February 1959) is a South Korean politician and labor rights activist. She was one of the five major presidential candidates in the 2017 South Korean presidential election, running as the Justice Party's nominee. She agai ...
, 2017 Justice Party presidential nominee, member of the National Assembly (2004–2008, 2012–present), and former leader of the Justice Party (2015–2017, 2019–2020) (announced 18 August 2021, nominated on 12 October)


Other primary candidates

* Lee Jeong-mi, former member of the National Assembly (2016–2020) and former leader of the Justice Party (2017–2019) (announced 23 August 2021) * Hwang Sun-sik, two-term member of the Gwacheon City Council in Gyeonggi-do. (announced 31 August 2021) * Kim Yun-gi, acting Representative of the Justice Party (announced 2 September 2021) File:Lee Jeong-mi taking a commemorative photo at the National Assembly.jpg, Lee Jeong-mi


People Party

The People Party (
Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula * Korean cuisine * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl **Korean dialects and the Jeju language ** ...
: 국민의당) is a
conservative liberal Conservative liberalism or right-liberalism is a variant of liberalism, combining liberal values and policies with conservative stances, or simply representing the right-wing of the liberal movement. M. Gallagher, M. Laver and P. Mair, ''Repre ...
,
socially conservative Social conservatism is a political philosophy and variety of conservatism which places emphasis on traditional power structures over social pluralism. Social conservatives organize in favor of duty, traditional values and social institution ...
and
reformist Reformism is a political doctrine advocating the reform of an existing system or institution instead of its abolition and replacement. Within the socialist movement, reformism is the view that gradual changes through existing institutions can ...
party that was registered in February 2020. The party is considered a minor or third party, as current politics is mostly dominated by the centre-left Democratic Party of Korea and the right-wing People Power Party. It is the most recent party founded by centrist politician Ahn Cheol-soo, a former medical doctor and software executive who ran for president in the
2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...
and
2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...
presidential elections and emerged at various points as a possible winning contender. In the 2017 election, Ahn emerged as a major threat to eventual winner Moon Jae-in, at one point polling nearly even with Moon before collapsing in polling and finishing behind conservative firebrand candidate
Hong Jun-pyo Hong Joon-pyo (born 20 November 1953), also spelled as Hong Jun-pyo, is a South Korean politician and former prosecutor who is the current Mayor of Daegu, Mayor of Daegu. He previous served as the governor of South Gyeongsang Province, a membe ...
with approximately 21.41% of the vote. In the 2020 National Assembly election, the People Party fared poorly, winning a mere 3 seats; in comparison, Ahn's previous outfit, the identically named People Party, won an unexpectedly large 38 seats in the 2016 National Assembly election. In the
2021 elections Many elections occurred in 2021. The National Democratic Institute maintains calendar of elections around the world * 2021 United Nations Security Council election * 2021 national electoral calendar * 2021 local electoral calendar Africa * 2021 ...
, Ahn ran for
Mayor of Seoul The Mayor of Seoul () is the chief executive of Seoul Metropolitan Government, Seoul being the capital and largest city of South Korea. The position is historically one of the most powerful in the country, charged with managing an annual budge ...
, but, in a pre-negotiated deal with the PPP, pulled out of the race after losing opinion polls to PPP candidate
Oh Se-hoon Oh Se-hoon ( Korean: 오세훈, Hanja: 吳世勳; born January 4, 1961) is a South Korean politician who is currently the serving Mayor of Seoul since 8 April 2021. He also previously served as a member of the National Assembly of South Kore ...
and supported Oh, who would go on to win the election. Ahn was considering a candidacy and party merger with the People Power Party. However, the negotiations between Ahn and PPP leader
Lee Jun-seok Jun-seok Andy Lee (; born 31 March 1985) is a South Korean politician who served as party leader of the conservative People Power Party. Lee entered politics as a relatively young member of the Park Geun-hye presidential administration, d ...
ended with hostilities on 16 August 2021. On 8 October 2021, the Party's "Central Party Election Planning Group" was launched, and it took the first steps in the process of selecting a presidential candidate. On 1 November 2021, Ahn Cheol-soo announced his candidacy in the 2022 presidential election. The People Party's Central Party Election Planning Group stated it would receive applications for other presidential candidates for two days following Ahn's announcement, but it was considered merely a formality and that Ahn would certainly be the People Party's presidential candidate. On 3 November, Ahn publicly rejected the idea of merging the candidacies of the People Party and the People Power Party. On 4 November, Ahn was chosen as the People Party nominee with 92% of the vote, and he accepted the nomination. On 3 March 2022, six days before the presidential election, Ahn dropped out of the presidential race and endorsed PPP candidate Yoon Seok-youl for president. At the time of his dropping out, Ahn was polling at around 10%.


Candidate

*
Ahn Cheol-soo Ahn Cheol-soo ( ; born 26 February 1962) is a South Korean politician, medical doctor, businessperson, and software entrepreneur. He currently serves as a member of the National Assembly as part of the conservative People Power Party. Pri ...
, 2012 independent presidential candidate, 2017 People's Party presidential nominee, leader of the People Party (2020–), former member of the National Assembly (2013-2017), and founder of AhnLab, Inc. (nominated 4 November 2021)


Minor party candidates


Registered candidates


Opinion polling


Campaign developments


Campaign issues

The main priorities that the next president should tackle were solving real estate issues, economic recovery and response to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
, according to a Gallup poll in January 2022.


Negative campaigning and candidate unpopularity

During the primary campaign, observers noted that the presidential campaign was going down as the most negative campaign in South Korea's recent history, as the candidates were described to be busy slandering at each other and not competing on the basis of values, platforms or policies. A Hankyoreh commentary said PPP candidates like Yoo Seong-min, Won Hee-ryong, and Choi Jae-hyung, and Lee Nak-yeon and Chung Sye-kyun on the Democratic side struggled in their respective party primaries as they were too "elite" and too "respectable". The commentary also attributed to the success of Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic candidate, and Hong Jun-pyo and Yoon Suk-yeol on the PPP side due to the increasing tendency to vote with the heart instead of the brain. A ''
Voice of America Voice of America (VOA or VoA) is the state-owned news network and international radio broadcaster of the United States of America. It is the largest and oldest U.S.-funded international broadcaster. VOA produces digital, TV, and radio content ...
'' article reported that South Korea's lax media editorial standards was responsible for playing a role in allowing unsubstantiated allegations being spread. This environment, added with complications by social media, which has fractured the media landscape and sharpened political divides has led to allowing the loudest and most divisive voices to emerge at the top (an example of such a phenomenon was cited as
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...
's victory over
Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...
, in the 2016 U.S. election campaign). By October, *
Yoon Suk-yeol Yoon Suk-yeol (; born 18 December 1960) is a South Korean politician, former public prosecutor and lawyer who has been serving as the 13th and current president of South Korea since 2022. Prior to his presidency, he served as the prosecutor ...
(PPP), in addition to his controversial remarks and being accused of preparing premeditated criminal charges on figures related to the Moon government on behalf of the PPP opposition in 2020 as prosecutor general, was dogged by accusations of relying on shamanism and superstition. At a debate with primary candidates he was forced to deny meeting with an unlicensed religious medical practitioner specialising in anal acupuncture. However he ended up defending the teachings of a mystic who claimed he could travel between dimensions. * As for candidate Hong Jun-pyo, he described himself as a
strongman In the 19th century, the term strongman referred to an exhibitor of strength or similar circus performers who performed feats of strength. More recently, strength athletics, also known as strongman competitions, have grown in popularity. Thes ...
leader comparing himself to
US President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...
and China's leader
Xi Jinping Xi Jinping ( ; ; ; born 15 June 1953) is a Chinese politician who has served as the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), and thus as the paramount leader of China, ...
, and was called "Hong Trump" due to his offensive and colourful remarks. He was criticized for writing in a 2005 book that he helped his friend obtain a 'pig stimulant' to commit
date rape Date rape is a form of acquaintance rape and dating violence. The two phrases are often used interchangeably, but date rape specifically refers to a rape in which there has been some sort of romantic or potentially sexual relationship between ...
on a woman when he was a 18-year-old college student (this controversy first emerged in his 2017 presidential run). In his 2017 campaign, he said dish-washing in the house was a woman's job. The three main contenders, Lee for the Democratic Party, and Hong Jun-pyo and Yoon on the PPP side, were reported to have record low favorability ratings according to approval ratings compiled by Gallup Korea. Lee, has an approval rating of only 34%, while Yoon's rating was at just 30% and Hong Joon-pyo, at 28%. In contrast, President Moon Jae-in had a positive favorability rating of 47% while running for election in 2017. A later poll in the second half of October showed that Lee's rating fell to 32%, while Yoon's rating fell to 28% (after the Chun Doo-hwan controversy) and falling behind Hong who was polled at 31%. The same pollster revealed that minor party candidates fared even worse: Sim Sang-jung from the Justice Party had 24 percent support approval against 62 percent disapproval, and Ahn Cheol-soo, leader of the People Party, had a 19 percent approval rating with 72 percent disapproval. However, by January 2022, a Gallup poll showed the favorability ratings of Ahn Cheol-soo, Lee Jae-myung and Sim Sang-jung rose to 38%, 36% and 30% respectively, while Yoon Seok-yeol's rating crashed to 25%.


Recruitment of left-wing feminists to the conservative camps

On 21 December 2021, despite conservative People Power Party candidate
Yoon Suk-yeol Yoon Suk-yeol (; born 18 December 1960) is a South Korean politician, former public prosecutor and lawyer who has been serving as the 13th and current president of South Korea since 2022. Prior to his presidency, he served as the prosecutor ...
being openly anti-feminist, two famous left-wing women's rights activists, Shin Ji-ye and
Lee Soo-jung Crystal Yi (born 1993), known by the stage name Chai or her Korean name Lee Soo-jung (), is a Korean-American singer-songwriter. She is best known for winning SBS's '' K-pop Star 5''. Career In 2015–2016, Yi participated in the fifth season ...
, joined the conservative camp for president. Yoon's camp most notably recruited Shin Ji-ye, a two time candidate for Seoul Mayor in 2018 under the
Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence. Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation f ...
and again in 2021 as an
independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...
. Shin stated, "(Yoon) pledged to resolve violence against women, address the climate crisis and create a Republic of Korea that overcomes (the division of) left and right and moves forward, so I decided to take part." Many criticized this move, including: * Choi Hyun-sook, a LGBTQ human rights activist, left a comment on Shin Ji-ye's Facebook statement, saying, "She must have been such a human being." * Ha Heon-ki, a youth spokesman for the Democratic Party of Korea, said on Facebook, "I ended up going to the place I commented on as Hitler's party." * Austin Bashore, long-time friend of Shin and member of the Green Party US tweeted "This was not our plan", "Nobody saw this coming, even her closest friends", and "I met Shin Ji-ye in her apartment two weeks ago for a friendship brunch. As friends do, we talked about politics and she said she did not know hoto support, so I suggested, as friends do, to support Progressive Party candidate Kim Jae-yeon." Bashore also called her an "opportunist," which began trending on Korean Twitter for 6 hours on 21 December. * The Korean Women's Political Network, in which Shin helped found, also made it clear that "CEO Shin's decision was not discussed in advance with the Korean Women's Political Network and was irrelevant to the organizational decision." * Kim Min-jae, a spokesperson for the New Wave - Squid Party youth caucus, commented, "It is an opportunistic appearance to seize vested interests and complete chaos to sleep with the enemy in order to seize votes." * Justice Party spokesman Kim Chang-in commented, "The change is bizarre." * Shin Ji-hye, standing representative of the
Basic Income Party The Basic Income Party (, BIP) is a single-issue political party in South Korea advocating for a universal basic income (UBI). History The Basic Income Party came into existence when the ninth leadership board of the Labor Party led by Yon ...
, urged candidate Yoon Seok-yeol to reveal the national vision for what it is, saying, "Stop the show." * The
Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence. Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation f ...
left a notice saying it would return the donations Shin Ji-ye received when she ran for the mayor of Seoul in 2018 under the Green Party banner. On 23 December, two days after the recruitment of Shin Ji-ye, party leader
Lee Jun-seok Jun-seok Andy Lee (; born 31 March 1985) is a South Korean politician who served as party leader of the conservative People Power Party. Lee entered politics as a relatively young member of the Park Geun-hye presidential administration, d ...
, who had a year-long conflict with Shin Ji-ye over gender politics, stepped down from all his roles in the presidential campaign, and called for the campaign committee to be overhauled. On 3 January 2022, after only 14 days, Shin Ji-ye resigned from her position as senior vice-chair of the New Generation Policy Committee, citing conflicts with Lee Jun-seok and plummeting poll numbers for Yoon Suk-yeol. On 19 January 2022, Lee Soo-jung, a criminal psychology professor and feminist, also quit the Yoon campaign. Lee resigned due to Yoon's wife's comments about the MeToo movement during an 8-hour long phone interview with TV broadcaster MBC's investigative news show ''Straight'', in which she mocked victims of sexual assault.


Infighting in Yoon's campaign team and PPP

By January, as a result of infighting within Yoon's campaign team and Yoon's dispute with party leader Lee Jun-seok, Lee Jae-myung reversed Yoon's poll lead and built a healthy poll lead ranging from 6 to 10 points, outside the margin of error. The centrist Ahn Cheol-soo also ate into Yoon's support, gaining support in the range of 10 to 15%. A Realmeter survey commissioned by YTN with 1,024 voters between the ages of 18 and 39 conducted showed that Yoon had only 18.4 percent support from respondents, trailing Lee Jae-myung at 33.4 percent and Ahn Cheol-soo at 19.1 percent, marking a plunge in support from the youth demographic in contrast to the lead he had when he was nominated for the PPP in this crucial demographic. Yoon Seok-yeol then disbanded his election campaign committee, following weeks of internal dispute on 5 January. The campaign had recruited former party leader and veteran campaigner
Kim Chong-in Kim Chong-in (, born 7 July 1940) is a South Korean economist and politician. He was the interim chairman of the Minjoo Party of Korea from January to August 2016 and a member-elect of the National Assembly on the party's proportional list si ...
to be the campaign manager, before the infighting took place and Yoon pointed out that numerous leadership posts including the chief, subcommittee chiefs and standing chairpersons and internal subcommittees slowed down the decision-making process, which was one of Lee Jun-seok's criticisms of his campaign. On 3 January, Kim, the election committee's top chief, had made an announcement of an overhaul of the committee without informing Yoon in advance. As a result, Yoon reportedly sacked Kim and reshuffled his campaign team, while "asking imto continue giving advice”. However, Kim announced he had quit early on 5 January even before Yoon proposed the disbandment, and said he had disagreements with Yoon's campaign staff, leading to the parting of ways. Yoon appointed Rep. Kwon Yeong-se as his new campaign chief. However, on 6 January, PPP members began demanding the party chairman to quit on grounds that he was damaging the party's chances of winning the election, although the majority of the public blamed Yoon for the chaos enveloping his campaign. By the end of the same day however, Yoon and Lee reached an agreement to put their long-running feud behind them.


Sim Sang-jung suspends campaign activities

On 12 January 2022, The Justice Party candidate,
Sim Sang-jung Sim Sang-jung (born 20 February 1959) is a South Korean politician and labor rights activist. She was one of the five major presidential candidates in the 2017 South Korean presidential election, running as the Justice Party's nominee. She agai ...
suspended campaign activities and went into seclusion amid low ratings, to craft "reform plans". A day later, her campaign chief and election committee members decided to resign and the committee was "virtually disbanded," as key campaign leaders tendered their resignations. On 19 January 2022, Sim resumed campaign appearances with a visit to the national office of the
Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence. Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation f ...
. Together, they discussed their combined plans to combat climate change and pushed for an anti-discrimination law. There is currently no form of anti-discrimination legislation in the Republic of Korea.


Bus accident deaths involving Ahn Cheol-soo's campaigners

On 15 February 2022, the first legal day of the presidential campaign, two members of the People's Party presidential campaign died in an apparent accident with the campaign tour bus. The bus driver and the campaign chair for the city of
Nonsan Nonsan () is a city in South Chungcheong Province, South Korea. It is located at . The origin of Nonsan's geographical names is said to have come from the small garden " Nolmoe, " which rises in the middle of farming fields, where rice paddies ...
died of apparent
carbon monoxide poisoning Carbon monoxide poisoning typically occurs from breathing in carbon monoxide (CO) at excessive levels. Symptoms are often described as " flu-like" and commonly include headache, dizziness, weakness, vomiting, chest pain, and confusion. Large ...
inside the bus in the central city in Cheonan around 5:24 PM local time. One person was also rushed to a local hospital while unconscious. In response, Ahn halted all scheduled appearances for the remainder of the week.


Ahn's withdrawal from the campaign, endorsing Yoon Suk-yeol

On 20 February 2022, Ahn clarified that there won't be further negotiations over unification with Yoon Suk-yeol, a week after he proposed a unified opposition campaign through opinion polls that ask who will be more suitable for the presidency and to defeat Lee Jae-myung, the nominee of the governing
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...
. However, on the night of 2 March 2022, hours after the last presidential debate, Ahn met Yoon at the house of the brother-in-law of Chang Je-won, assemblymember for the People Power Party, and a close aide to Yoon. On the morning of 3 March, Ahn and Yoon made a joint statement that the two candidates decided to join forces to change the government. Ahn will be involved in the takeover committee, in the case of Yoon's victory, and the two parties will merge weeks after the election. The unification seemed to be over by most of the commentators, as ballot papers including Ahn's name were already printed. In addition, absentee ballots of overseas residents have already been cast between 23 and 28 February. Those voting on the day of the election will still see Ahn's name on the ballot, even though ballots cast for Ahn will be counted invalid. After the joint statement, the members' board of the People Party went down due to an overflow of complaints of the members of the party. Ahn also faced criticisms over breaking his promise of achieving
Third Way The Third Way is a centrist political position that attempts to reconcile right-wing and left-wing politics by advocating a varying synthesis of centre-right economic policies with centre-left social policies. The Third Way was born from ...
politics and implementing
multi-party system In political science, a multi-party system is a political system in which multiple political parties across the political spectrum run for national elections, and all have the capacity to gain control of government offices, separately or in ...
in South Korean politics. Just days before the unification, he said "if you vote for Yoon, you'll want to cut your finger after a year". Ahn also secured his public image as "withdrawal", which is the Korean word that sounds the same as Ahn's given name, Cheol-soo. This is the fourth election in which Ahn withdrew his candidacy. Ahn withdrew in 2011 and
2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...
to
Park Won-soon Park Won-soon ( ko, 박원순; March 26, 1956July 9, 2020) was a South Korean politician, activist, and lawyer. His term ended when he took his own life due to a sexual harassment scandal. He was the longest-serving mayor of Seoul, from 2011 un ...
and
Oh Se-hoon Oh Se-hoon ( Korean: 오세훈, Hanja: 吳世勳; born January 4, 1961) is a South Korean politician who is currently the serving Mayor of Seoul since 8 April 2021. He also previously served as a member of the National Assembly of South Kore ...
respectively for the mayoralty of
Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 of ...
, and in
2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...
and 2022 to Moon Jae-in and Yoon Suk-yeol respectively for the presidency.


Attack against Song Young-gil

On 7 March 2022, the Democratic Party president
Song Young-gil Song Young Gil (; born 21 March 1963) is a South Korean politician who served as the Leader of the centre- liberal Democratic Party from 2 May 2021 until 10 March 2022. He was Member of the National Assembly, as well as the Chairman of the Fore ...
was attacked while campaigning for the presidential candidate,
Lee Jae-myung Lee Jae-myung (; born 22 December 1964) is a South Korean politician serving as a member of the National Assembly and the leader of the Democratic Party of Korea. Lee was the nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2022 South Korean presidenti ...
, in
Sinchon Sinchon () is a region of South Korea surrounding Sinchon-dong, Changcheon-dong, Nogosan-dong and Daeheung-dong. It is known for its numerous universities including Yonsei University, Ewha Womans University, Sogang University, Hongik Universi ...
. He was immediately brought to a nearby hospital, and was reportedly safe. Several Democratic MPs were criticised for labelling the incident as a "far-right terrorism", although the suspect was reportedly a Democratic-friendly
YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...
r. ''
News1 News1, also known by its former name, News First Class (NFC), is an Israeli news website concentrating on investigative journalism. The website was established by investigative reporter Yoav Yitzhak, who is the chief editor and contributing jou ...
'' reported that the incident is reminiscent of the 2006 local elections, when the then–
Grand National Party The Liberty Korea Party () was a conservative political party in South Korea that was described variously as right-wing, right-wing populist, or far-right. Until February 2017, it was known as the Saenuri Party (), and before that as the Hanna ...
(GNP) president
Park Geun-hye Park Geun-hye (; ; often in English ; born 2 February 1952) is a South Korean politician who served as the 11th president of South Korea from 2013 to 2017, until she was impeached and convicted on related corruption charges. Park was the fi ...
was stabbed while campaigning. The incident reportedly contributed to an overwhelming victory of the GNP, including the Daejeon mayorship election where the GNP was expected to lose but won in the end. Based on this incident, the newspaper also analysed that the attack against Song could possibly bring a positive consequence to the Democratic Party and Lee Jae-myung.


Voting

Due to the
COVID-19 pandemic in South Korea The COVID-19 pandemic in South Korea is part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (). The first case in South Korea was announced on 20 January 2020. The numb ...
, changes were made to voting. The pandemic had reached record levels of daily infections in South Korea around the time of the election amidst the arrival of the transmissible
SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant Omicron (B.1.1.529) is a variant of SARS-CoV-2 first reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) by the Network for Genomics Surveillance in South Africa on 24 November 2021. It was first detected in Botswana and has spread to become the ...
. A record 37% eligible voters voted early, and South Korean electoral law was modified ahead of the election to permit people with COVID-19 who were isolating to vote - estimated at over 1 million people at the time of the election. Polls were open later than usual to allow people with COVID-19 to vote.


Exit polls

When polls closed, two separate exit polls released at 7:30 p.m. KST gave conflicting results within the margin of error, showing the election was too close to call. KBS, MBC, and SBS terrestrial broadcasting exit survey (margin of error: 0.8%) JTBC broadcasting exit survey


Results

The Korean Broadcasting System was the first broadcaster to forecast that Yoon would be the winner of the election at 3:22 a.m. KST on the morning of 10 March. Shortly after at 3:50 a.m. KST, Lee conceded defeat and congratulated Yoon for his victory. Yoon's victory margin of 0.73% made this the closest presidential election result in South Korea. Yoon called the result "a victory for the people", and indicated that national unity for
Koreans Koreans ( South Korean: , , North Korean: , ; see names of Korea) are an East Asian ethnic group native to the Korean Peninsula. Koreans mainly live in the two Korean nation states: North Korea and South Korea (collectively and simply re ...
was his top priority. Lee won Jeju Island, Incheon and
Gyeonggi Province Gyeonggi-do (, ) is the most populous province in South Korea. Its name, ''Gyeonggi'', means "京 (the capital) and 畿 (the surrounding area)". Thus, ''Gyeonggi-do'' can be translated as "Seoul and the surrounding areas of Seoul". Seoul, the na ...
(the most populous province in South Korea), where he was a former governor; however, the housing crisis in
Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 of ...
swung the city and its suburbs to the conservative Yoon with a 310,000 vote margin (previously, liberal Moon Jae-in won Seoul twice in his two campaigns in 2012 and 2017). This allowed Yoon to overcome Lee nationwide by 247,000 raw votes. Lee won the Honam provinces of Jeolla and the city of Gwangju with over 80% of votes; however Yoon's vote share of >10% was the best result a conservative candidate had achieved in these liberal strongholds.


By region


Major candidates

Breakdown of votes by region for candidates with at least 1% of the total votes.


Minor candidates

Breakdown of votes by region for candidates with less than 1% of the total votes.
File:2022 South Korean presidential election, Justice Party vote share.svg,
Sim Sang-jung Sim Sang-jung (born 20 February 1959) is a South Korean politician and labor rights activist. She was one of the five major presidential candidates in the 2017 South Korean presidential election, running as the Justice Party's nominee. She agai ...
( Justice Party)'s vote share by municipalities


Aftermath

Commentators suggested that the Democrats' defeat, and the comeback of the conservatives was unforeseen given their landslide defeat in the 2017 election after the Park Geun-hye impeachment. The incumbent liberals' failure to provide high-quality housing at affordable prices, double standards in the government's anti-corruption campaign, and limited success in achieving promised reforms to social policy despite an overwhelming majority in the National Assembly, and failure to nurture new political talents unlike the PPP were reasons cited for the defeat of the Democrats.


Notes


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:South Korean presidential election, 2022 Presidential March 2022 events in Asia
2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeypo ...