South Korean Presidential Election, 2002
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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 ...
were held in
South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...
on 19 December 2002. The result was a victory for
Roh Moo-Hyun Roh Moo-hyun (, ; 1 September 1946 – 23 May 2009) was a South Korean politician and lawyer who served as the ninth president of South Korea from 2003 to 2008. Roh's pre-presidential political career was focused on human rights advocacy for ...
of the ruling
Millennium Democratic Party The Democratic Party (DP; ) was a political party in South Korea. Formerly named Millennium Democratic Party (; MDP), it was renamed on 6 May 2005. After its dissolution, its members joined the Uri Party or the successor Democratic Party. H ...
, who defeated
Lee Hoi-chang Lee Hoi-chang (; born June 2, 1935) is a South Korean politician and lawyer who served as the prime minister of South Korea from 1993 to 1994. A political independent, he was a candidate in the 1997, 2002, and 2007 South Korean presidential el ...
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 Han ...
by just over half a million votes.


Background

President
Kim Dae-jung Kim Dae-jung (, ; 6 January 192418 August 2009) was a South Korean politician, activist and statesman who served as the eighth president of South Korea from 1998 to 2003. Kim entered politics as a member of the new wing of the Democratic Pa ...
's
National Congress for New Politics The National Congress for New Politics (NCNP; ) was a political party of South Korea. History The party was formed in 1995 as the National Congress for New Politics after Kim Dae-jung returned to active politics following his retirement in 199 ...
(NCNP) re-branded itself to
Millennium Democratic Party The Democratic Party (DP; ) was a political party in South Korea. Formerly named Millennium Democratic Party (; MDP), it was renamed on 6 May 2005. After its dissolution, its members joined the Uri Party or the successor Democratic Party. H ...
(MDP) in 2000, but was struggling as it had been defeated by 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 Han ...
(GNP) in both the 2000 legislative election and the 2002 local elections. GNP's then leader and probable presidential nominee
Lee Hoi-chang Lee Hoi-chang (; born June 2, 1935) is a South Korean politician and lawyer who served as the prime minister of South Korea from 1993 to 1994. A political independent, he was a candidate in the 1997, 2002, and 2007 South Korean presidential el ...
was polling higher than any MDP candidates.


Primaries


Millennium Democratic Party

For the first time in South Korean history, the Democratic Party nominated its presidential candidate through open primaries. At the beginning of the primaries, Rhee In-je, the 3-term congressman who ran against President
Kim Dae-jung Kim Dae-jung (, ; 6 January 192418 August 2009) was a South Korean politician, activist and statesman who served as the eighth president of South Korea from 1998 to 2003. Kim entered politics as a member of the new wing of the Democratic Pa ...
in 1997 but afterwards joined the
ruling party The ruling party or governing party in a democratic parliamentary or presidential system is the political party or coalition holding a majority of elected positions in a parliament, in the case of parliamentary systems, or holding the executive ...
, led the other candidates by a considerable margin in every poll. However, fringe candidate Roh Moo-hyun rose to prominence after winning the
Gwangju Gwangju (; ), formerly romanized as Kwangju, is South Korea's list of cities in South Korea, sixth-largest metropolis. It is a designated Special cities of South Korea, metropolitan city under the direct control of the central government's Home ...
contest, eventually winning his party's nomination and then the presidential election.


Candidates

*
Roh Moo-hyun Roh Moo-hyun (, ; 1 September 1946 – 23 May 2009) was a South Korean politician and lawyer who served as the ninth president of South Korea from 2003 to 2008. Roh's pre-presidential political career was focused on human rights advocacy for ...
, former Member of
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 repr ...
from
Busan Busan (), officially Busan Metropolitan City, is South Korea's second list of cities in South Korea by population, most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.3 million as of 2024. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economi ...
*
Lee In-je Lee In-je (; born 11 December 1948) is a South Korean politician and a former judge. Political career He was born in Nonsan, South Chungcheong Province and graduated from Seoul National University. In 1988, he entered politics after having bee ...
, former Governor of
Gyeonggi Gyeonggi Province (, ) is the most populous province in South Korea. Seoul, the nation's largest city and capital, is in the heart of the area but has been separately administered as a provincial-level ''special city'' since 1946. Incheon, ...
*
Chung Dong-young Chung Dong-young (; born 27 July 1953) is a South Korean politician who was the nominee of the United New Democratic Party in the 2007 South Korean presidential election. In June 2025, Chung was nominated to be South Korea's unification minist ...
, Member of National Assembly from
North Jeolla North Jeolla Province, officially Jeonbuk State (), is a Special Self-governing Province of South Korea in the Honam region in the southwest of the Korean Peninsula. Jeonbuk borders the provinces of South Chungcheong to the north, North Gyeo ...
* Kim Joong-kwon, former Member of National Assembly from
North Gyeongsang North Gyeongsang Province (, ) is a province in eastern South Korea, and with an area of , it is the largest province in the Korean peninsula. The province was formed in 1896 from the northern half of the former Gyeongsang province, and remaine ...
* Han Hwa-gap, former Member of National Assembly from
South Jeolla South Jeolla Province (), formerly South Chŏlla Province, also known as Jeonnam (), is a province in the Honam region, South Korea, and the southernmost province in mainland Korea. South Jeolla borders the provinces of North Jeolla to the nor ...
* Yu Jong-geun, Governor of
North Jeolla North Jeolla Province, officially Jeonbuk State (), is a Special Self-governing Province of South Korea in the Honam region in the southwest of the Korean Peninsula. Jeonbuk borders the provinces of South Chungcheong to the north, North Gyeo ...
*
Kim Geun-tae Kim Geun-tae (; 14 February 1947 – 30 December 2011) was a South Korean democracy activist and politician. Life Kim was born in Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province, southern Korea. He studied in Kyunggi High School and entered Seoul National Un ...
, Member of National Assembly from
Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...


Results


Grand National Party


Candidates

*
Lee Hoi-chang Lee Hoi-chang (; born June 2, 1935) is a South Korean politician and lawyer who served as the prime minister of South Korea from 1993 to 1994. A political independent, he was a candidate in the 1997, 2002, and 2007 South Korean presidential el ...
, former
Prime Minister A prime minister 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. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
* Choi Byung-ryul, 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 repr ...
from
Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...
* Lee Bu-young, 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 repr ...
from
Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...
* Lee Sang-hee, former Minister of Science and Technology


Results


Democratic Labor Party

Labor activist Kwon Young-ghil of the Democratic Labor Party was nominated for president.


Campaign

Although corruption scandals marred the incumbent government, Lee Hoi-chang's campaign suffered from the wave of
Anti-American sentiment in Korea Anti-American sentiment in Korea began with the earliest contact between the two nations and continued after the division of Korea and Korean War. Despite this, , 74% of South Koreans have a favorable view of the U.S., making it one of the most p ...
generated by the
Yangju highway incident The Yangju highway incident, also known as the Yangju training accident or Highway 56 Accident, occurred on June 13, 2002, in Yangju, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea. A United States Army M60 AVLB, armored vehicle-launched bridge, returning to base in ...
. Public opinion of Lee, who was widely seen as being both pro-U.S. and the preferred candidate of the
George W. Bush administration George W. Bush's tenure as the 43rd president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 2001, and ended on January 20, 2009. Bush, a Republican from Texas, took office following his narrow electoral college vict ...
in
Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
, suffered. After losing to Roh by 2% in the December 2002 elections, Lee subsequently announced his retirement from politics.


Roh-Chung coalition

Chung Mong-joon Chung Mong-joon or Chung Mong Joon (, born November 15, 1951) is a South Korean businessman and politician. He is the sixth son of Chung Ju-yung, founder of Hyundai Group, Hyundai, the second-largest South Korean ''chaebol'' before its breakup i ...
, the 3-term independent
congressman A member of congress (MOC), also known as a congressman or congresswoman, is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The t ...
from
Ulsan Ulsan (; ), officially the Ulsan Metropolitan City, is South Korea's seventh-largest metropolitan city and the eighth-largest city overall, with a population of over 1.1 million inhabitants. It is located in the south-east of the country, neighbo ...
and son of
Hyundai Hyundai is a former South Korean industrial conglomerate ("''chaebol''"), which was restructured into the following groups: * Hyundai Group, parts of the former conglomerate which have not been divested ** Hyundai Asan, a real estate construction ...
founder
Chung Ju-yung Chung Ju-yung or Jung Joo-young (; 25 November 1915 – 21 March 2001) was a South Korean entrepreneur and the founder of Hyundai Group, Hyundai Group, one of the largest chaebols in South Korea. Raised as the eldest son of a poor Korean farme ...
, became so popular that he began appearing on polls for presidential election after he, as the president of the Korean Football Association, was credited for winning the right to host
2002 FIFA World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea/Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams organized by ...
in Korea. Chung officially launched his presidential campaign in September, and in many polls beat Roh and came close to beating Lee. Many Democratic politicians that weren't happy with Roh's nomination joined Chung's campaign. However, when it seemed clear that if both Roh and Chung ran, Lee would win easily. The two sides decided to combine forces, instead of competing against each other. The two sides agreed on conducting two polls, each by different polling companies, where the winner would run as the unified candidate. The winner had to win both polls, or a second round had to occur. So the two poll was conducted on 24 November, but only one validated. The other one was invalidated, as the two sides had agreed that any poll with Lee Hoi-chang polling less than 30.4% must be invalidated, since there could be a chance that Lee's supporters were attempting to manipulate the results by responding with an untrue answer. The only poll that was validated was the one conducted by the Research and Research, and it was won by Roh. Consequently, Chung withdrew his candidacy and endorsed Roh. However, Chung later broke his pledge on the night before the election, when he felt that Roh broke the promise to include Chung in for policy decisions and surrounded himself only with Democrats. Chung announced less than eight hours before the election that he was withdrawing his support for Roh and urged people to vote their conscience, but Roh won anyway.


Results


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.


References

{{South Korean elections Presidential elections in South Korea
Presidential election 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 p ...
South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...