1972 South Korean presidential election

1972 South Korean presidential election

← 1971 23 December 1972 1978 →

2,359 members of the National Conference for Unification
1,180 votes needed to win
 
Nominee Park Chung-hee
Party Democratic Republican
Electoral vote 2,357

Votes of the National Conference for Unification
  Park Chung-hee: 2357
  Invalid/Blank: 2

President before election

Park Chung-hee
Democratic Republican

Elected President

Park Chung-hee
Democratic Republican

Presidential elections were held in South Korea in December 1972 following the promulgation of the Yushin Constitution, which created the National Conference for Unification, a body whose functions included being an electoral college for presidential elections. Incumbent President Park Chung-hee claimed that Western-style liberal democracy would bring more chaos to the economically struggling nation than it could afford. In contrast, he argued that the Yushin system created a "Korean-style democracy" with a strong, unchallenged presidency. He argued this system was necessary to keep the country stable.[1]

  1. ^ "주체사상과 한국적 민주주의는 왜 나왔을까 - 매일경제". Maeil Business Newspaper (in Korean). 14 November 2018. Archived from the original on 2019-03-29. Retrieved 2019-03-29.