1960 South Korean parliamentary election explained

Country:

South Korea

Flag Year:

1949

Previous Election:

1958

Election Date:

29 June 1960

Next Election:

1963

Module:

Embed:

yes

Election Name:

House of Representatives

Turnout:

84.35% (3.45pp)

Seats For Election:

All 233 seats in the House of Representatives

Majority Seats:

117

Party1:

Democratic Party (South Korea, 1955)

Leader1:

Chang Myon

Percentage1:

41.71

Last Election1:

Seats1:

175

Party2:

Socialist Mass Party

Leader2:

Seo Sang-il

Percentage2:

5.96

Last Election2:

new

Seats2:

Party3:

Liberal Party (South Korea)

Leader3:

Cho Gyeong-gyu

Percentage3:

2.75

Last Election3:

126

Seats3:

Party4:

Korea Socialist Party (1960)

Percentage4:

0.64

Last Election4:

new

Seats4:

Party5:

Unification Party (South Korea)

Percentage5:

0.19

Last Election5:

Seats5:

Party6:

Other parties

Leader6:

–

Percentage6:

1.65

Last Election6:

Seats6:

Party7:

Independents

Leader7:

–

Percentage7:

46.81

Last Election7:

Seats7:

Speaker

Before Party:

Democratic Party (South Korea, 1955)

After Election:

Kwak Sang-hoon

After Party:

Democratic Party (South Korea, 1955)

Module:

Embed:	yes
Election Name:	House of Councillors
Seats For Election:	All 58 seats in the House of Councillors
Majority Seats:	30
Party1:	Democratic Party (South Korea, 1955)
Leader1:	Chang Myon
Percentage1:	51.41
Last Election1:	new
Seats1:	31
Party2:	Liberal Party (South Korea)
Leader2:	Cho Gyeong-gyu
Percentage2:	6.12
Last Election2:	new
Seats2:	4
Party3:	Socialist Mass Party
Leader3:	Seo Sang-il
Percentage3:	1.37
Last Election3:	new
Seats3:	1
Party4:	Korea Socialist Party (1960)
Percentage4:	1.27
Last Election4:	new
Seats4:	1
Party5:	Other
Leader5:	–
Percentage5:	1.77
Last Election5:	new
Seats5:	1
Party6:	Independents
Leader6:	–
Percentage6:	38.07
Last Election6:	new
Seats6:	20

Map:

Republic_of_Korea_legislative_election_1960_districts_result.png

Parliamentary elections were held in South Korea on 29 June 1960.^[1] They were the first and only direct elections of the Second Republic and saw the first election of members of the new House of Councillors, together with the fifth election of members of the House of Representatives. They were also the first relatively free and fair national elections held in the country, but would be the last free elections until the 1987 presidential elections. Voter turnout was 84.3%.

The elections took place after President Rhee Syngman amended the constitution and won a third term in the uncontested March 1960 presidential election, which prompted the pro-democracy April Revolution and removed Rhee from power.

The Democratic Party, which had been the opposition party under former President Rhee, received the most votes (42%) in the House of Representatives election, winning 175 of 233 seats, while its 51% vote share in the House of Councillors elections saw it win 31 of the 58 seats. It was the first time that a liberal party won an election in South Korea, but the Democratic Party and its liberal successors would not win an election again until the 1997 presidential election and would not win a legislative election until 2004. Independent politicians received a significant portion of the vote, with 47% of the vote in the House of Representatives elections and 38% of the vote in the House of Councillors elections.

The government formed after the elections was overthrown within less than a year by Park Chung-hee in a coup on 16 May 1961. Park subsequently re-established the presidential system under a military government and served as president of South Korea from 1962 to 1979.

Electoral system

The members of the House of Representatives were elected via first-past-the-post voting. Members of the House of Councillors were elected via partial block voting in constituencies of between two and eight seats corresponding to the provinces and Seoul, where voters could cast ballots for up to half of the candidates running in their constituency.

Results

House of Representatives

By city/province

Region	Total seats	Seats won
		DP	SMP	LP	SP	UP	Other	Ind.

Seoul	16	15	0	0	0	0	0	1
Gyeonggi	25	14	0	0	0	0	0	11
Gangwon	20	12	1	1	0	0	0	6
North Chungcheong	13	9	0	0	0	0	1	3
South Chungcheong	22	18	0	0	0	0	0	4
North Jeolla	24	18	1	0	0	0	0	5
South Jeolla	32	29	0	0	0	1	0	2
North Gyeongsang	38	28	1	0	0	0	0	9
South Gyeongsang	40	31	1	1	0	0	0	7
Jeju	3	1	0	0	1	0	0	1
Total	233	175	4	2	1	1	1	49

House of Councillors

By city/province

Region	Total seats	Seats won
		DP	LP	SMP	SP	Other	Ind.

Seoul	6	4	0	0	0	0	2
Gyeonggi	6	3	1	0	0	0	2
Gangwon	4	3	0	0	0	0	1
North Chungcheong	4	3	1	0	0	0	0
South Chungcheong	6	2	1	1	0	0	2
North Jeolla	6	4	0	0	0	0	2
South Jeolla	8	4	1	0	0	0	3
North Gyeongsang	8	3	0	0	1	0	4
South Gyeongsang	8	4	0	0	0	1	3
Jeju	2	1	0	0	0	0	1
Total	58	31	4	1	1	1	20

Notes and References

[Dieter Nohlen]