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17th Presidential Election
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Comparing with Past Elections
1997 Presidential Election
2002 Presidential Election
 
 
HOME > 17th Presidential Election > Comparing with Past Elections
 
2002 Presidential Election
 
2002 Election Overview
Election Date No. of Candidates Winner Total Electorate No. of Voters Voter Turnout
Dec. 19, 2002 7 Roh Moo-hyun 34,991,529 24,784,963 70.8%
 
Candidates and Winner
Name Party Popular Vote Note
Roh Moo-hyun Millennium Democratic Party 12,014,277 Elected with 48.9%
of popular vote
Lee Hoi-chang Grand National Party 11,443,297 Defeated by about 570,000 votes
Kwon Young-ghil Democratic Labor Party 957,148 -
Lee Han-dong One Nation Unite 74,027 -
Kim Kil-soo National Defenders Party 51,104 -
Kim Young-koo Korea Socialist Party 22,063 -
Jang Se-dong Independent - Dropped out of race
 
Situation in South Korea Around the Election Period
FIFA World Cup & West Sea Naval Clashes
The 16th presidential election came as the national mood was still upbeat following the successful hosting of the 2002 FIFA World Cup. However, the year 2002 was also marked by the resurfacing of North Korea's nuclear activities as a contentious issue and a series of bloody naval clashes in the West Sea that left six South Korean sailors dead. Then-President Kim Dae-jung seemed to become a lame duck in the last year of his term, marred by a series of scandals involving his children and the National Assembly's rejection of two of his nominees for prime minister.
 
Political Sector
Ruling Camp In the beginning of 2002, prospects for the Millennium Democratic Party (MDP) to win the presidential race seemed nearly impossible as Grand National Party candidate Lee Hoi-chang held a commanding lead in the approval ratings. However, the introduction of primaries which allowed ordinary citizens to take part in selecting the nation’s president played a pivotal role in the MDP’s 2002 presidential victory.
Strong Emergence of Roh Moo-hyun The biggest beneficiary of the primaries was none other than Roh Moo-hyun. Due to Roh's strong lead, early presidential favorite Rhee In-je was forced to abandon the primaries and later bolt from the MDP.
Fielding a Single Candidate with National Alliance 21’s Chung Mong-joon Legislator and Korea Football Association President Chung Mong-joon emerged as a popular figure after South Korea reached the semifinals in the 2002 World Cup. He created the party, National Alliance 21, in November 2002 after announcing plans to run for president in September. Soon after, however, Chung agreed with Roh to form a coalition that would field a single candidate in a bid to swing voters away from the GNP’s Lee Hoi-chang. Roh emerged as the coalition's candidate based on the results of a series of televised debates and public opinion polls.
Nosamo and Netizens The Internet played a particularly strong role in the 2002 presidential race, along with the creation of voluntary support groups. The creation of Nosamo, or Roh Moo-hyun’s Internet-based fan club, became a strong base of support for Roh's campaign while his camp succeeded in overtaking the Internet to ultimately lead the elections.
Opposition Camp Lee Remains GNP's Leading Candidate Lee Hoi-chang had established firm leadership in the GNP after his defeat in the 1997 presidential election, topping his party's primary as a result.
Past Allegations Haunt Lee However, Lee again suffered from allegations that his sons had dodged military service in 2002, as he had in 1997. The same allegations that had undermined his camp five years earlier again became the biggest hurdles for the party to overcome. Lee eventually lost leadership due to the speculations.
 
New Election Culture
Media Election
& Negative Practices		 In 2002, the Internet and TV debates cemented their place in the nation’s election culture. However, practices of raising allegations against rival candidates and fomenting regionalism remained powerful factors in the elections that year.
 
Election Results
Roh Moo-hyun Wins Election
Roh Moo-hyun was elected South Korea’s 16th president after garnering some 12 million votes. The 2002 presidential race was a very close one between Roh Moo-hyun and Lee Hoi-chang. On Election Day, Lee was in the lead in the morning but Roh recovered later in the afternoon to beat Lee by just over half a million votes.