General Information
At stake in this election:
- The office of President of South Korea
Description of government structure:
- Chief of State: President KIM Dae-jung
- Head of Government: Prime Minister KIM Suk-soo
- Assembly: South Korea has a unicameral National Assembly (Kukhoe) with 299 seats.
Description of electoral system:
- The President is elected by plurality vote to serve a 5-year term.
- The Prime Minister is appointed by the president with the approval of the parliament.
- In the National Assembly (Kukhoe), 243 members are elected by plurality vote in single-member constituencies to serve 4-year terms and 56 members are elected through a closed-list proportional representation system to serve 4-year terms.
Main Candidates in the Presidential race:
- ROH Moo-hyun
- Party: Millennium Democratic Party (MDP)
- LEE Hoi-chang
- Party: Grand National Party (GNP)
- KWON Young-gil
- Party: Democratic Labor Party
- LEE Han-dong
- Party: Hanaro National Union
- KIM Kil-su
- Party: Defense of the Nation Party
- KIM Yeong-kyu
- Party: Socialist Party
Last Presidential election:
- The last presidential election was held on December 18, 1997. President KIM Dae-jung secured 40.3% of the votes cast, defeating YI Hoi-chang who received 38.7%.
Population and number of registered voters:
- Population: 47,622,179 (2002)
- Registered Voters: 34,991,529 (2002)
Gender Data:
· Female Population: 23,756,388 (2002)
· Is South Korea a signatory to CEDAW: Yes (25 May 1983)
· Has South Korea ratified CEDAW: Yes (27 December 1984)
· Gender Quota: Yes[5]
· Female candidates in this election: No
· Number of Female Parliamentarians: 16 (following the 2000 elections)
· Human Development Index Position: 17 (2014)
· Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: N/A
Disability Data:
· Is South Korea a signatory to CRPD: Yes (30 March 2007)
· Has South Korea ratified CRPD: Yes (11 December 2008)
· Population with a disability: 7,143,326 (est.)