1972 South Korean constitutional referendum

1972 South Korean constitutional referendum

21 November 1972

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

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

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

  1. ^ Dieter Nohlen, Florian Grotz & Christof Hartmann (2001) Elections in Asia: A data handbook, Volume II, p420 ISBN 0-19-924959-8
  2. ^ Nohlen et al, p427