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March 1960 South Korean presidential election

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Field	Value
country	Republic of Korea
flag_year	1949
type	presidential
previous_election	1956 South Korean presidential election
previous_year	1956
next_election	August 1960 South Korean presidential election
next_year	August 1960
election_date	15 March 1960
module	{{infobox election
embed	yes
election_name	Presidential election
image1	Rhee Syng-Man in 1948 (3x4).jpg
candidate1	Syngman Rhee
party1	Liberal Party (South Korea)
popular_vote1	9,633,376
percentage1	100%
title	President
before_election	Syngman Rhee
before_party	Liberal Party (South Korea)
after_election	Syngman Rhee
after_party	Liberal Party (South Korea)
module	{{infobox election
embed	yes
election_name	Vice presidential election
image1	Lee gi bung.png
candidate1	Lee Ki Poong
party1	Liberal Party (South Korea)
popular_vote1	8,337,059
percentage1	79.19%
image2	John Myun.jpg
candidate2	Chang Myon
party2	Democratic Party (South Korea, 1955)
popular_vote2	1,843,758
percentage2	17.51%
title	Vice president
before_election	Chang Myon
before_party	Democratic Party (South Korea, 1955)
after_election	Lee Ki-poong
after_party	Liberal Party (South Korea)

Presidential and vice presidential elections were held in South Korea on 15 March 1960. Shortly after winning reelection to a second term in the 1952 presidential election, Rhee had the legislature pass a constitutional amendment exempting himself from the two-term limit, allowing himself to run for and win a third term in 1956 and in March 1960.

After the death of Democratic Party opponent Cho Pyong-ok, Rhee was left as the only candidate, and was re-elected unopposed. Voter turnout was 97.0%. With the lack of a meaningful contest in the presidential race, popular focus shifted to the vice presidential contest where Rhee's Liberal Party candidate Lee Ki-poong competed against Chang Myon. The elections were heavily rigged in Lee's favor, and widespread allegations of corruption and manipulation of the results sparked protests which spiralled into the April Revolution, causing the annulment of the election, the resignation and exile of Rhee, and the collapse of the First Republic. The election is described by the Encyclopedia of Korean Culture as the "March 15 Election Fraud."

Results

President

Popular hopes of unseating Rhee were frustrated by the death of his opponent Cho Pyong-ok several weeks before the election, leaving Rhee to be elected without opposition.

The constitution stated, if there was only one candidate, they were required to receive at least 30% of the total votes cast in order to be elected, including blank and invalid votes. As the only candidate, Rhee received 88.7% of all votes cast. Dissent to the authoritarian president was more apparent in the urban areas than the rest of the country. In Seoul, nearly a third of the votes were invalid or blank, while in the vice presidential election held simultaneously, only 2.9% of the ballots were invalidated.

By province and city

Province/City	Syngman Rhee	Invalid	Liberal Party (South Korea)}}"		Votes	%
Seoul	Liberal Party (South Korea)}}; color:white;"	684,146	Liberal Party (South Korea)}}; color:white;"	72.14	264,193	27.86
Gyeonggi	Liberal Party (South Korea)}}; color:white;"	1,139,927	Liberal Party (South Korea)}}; color:white;"	87.13	168,401	12.87
Gangwon	Liberal Party (South Korea)}}; color:white;"	829,131	Liberal Party (South Korea)}}; color:white;"	94.89	44,665	5.11
North Chungcheong	Liberal Party (South Korea)}}; color:white;"	510,369	Liberal Party (South Korea)}}; color:white;"	88.54	66,068	11.46
South Chungcheong	Liberal Party (South Korea)}}; color:white;"	988,180	Liberal Party (South Korea)}}; color:white;"	93.48	68,952	6.52
North Jeolla	Liberal Party (South Korea)}}; color:white;"	919,529	Liberal Party (South Korea)}}; color:white;"	89.00	113,640	11.00
South Jeolla	Liberal Party (South Korea)}}; color:white;"	1,398,887	Liberal Party (South Korea)}}; color:white;"	92.78	108,902	7.22
North Gyeongsang	Liberal Party (South Korea)}}; color:white;"	1,403,461	Liberal Party (South Korea)}}; color:white;"	87.36	203,105	12.64
South Gyeongsang	Liberal Party (South Korea)}}; color:white;"	1,632,159	Liberal Party (South Korea)}}; color:white;"	89.57	190,158	10.43
Jeju	Liberal Party (South Korea)}}; color:white;"	127,587	Liberal Party (South Korea)}}; color:white;"	99.37	812	0.63
Total	Liberal Party (South Korea)}}; color:white;"	9,633,376	Liberal Party (South Korea)}}; color:white;"	88.69	1,228,896	11.31
Source: National Election Commission

Vice president

With no competition for Rhee in the presidential elections of 1960 after the death of his opponent, the simultaneous vice presidential elections became the main focus of attention. Opposition to Rhee was concentrated around the incumbent Democratic Party candidate, Chang Myon, who had been elected in 1956. Official results after the election showed a large victory for the Liberal candidate, Lee Ki Poong, with a margin of almost 80% to Chang's 17.5%, entirely against popular expectations, and it was obvious that the results had been extensively manipulated: Han goes so far as to say that "the election results were completely fabricated by police headquarters and the ministry of internal affairs".

The Democratic Party rejected the result and on the same day, protests began in Masan against the fabrication of the election results. The discovery of the mutilated body of a sixteen-year-old boy who had participated in these protests in early April caused a wave of further protest, and Rhee's obdurate attitude led to the intensification of unrest into the April Revolution, though Rhee forced Lee to withdraw from active politics. The results of the elections were nullified after the Revolution's triumph later in the year, though Chang himself resigned on April 23.

By province and city

Province/City	Lee Ki-poong	Chang Myon	Kim Chun-yon	Louise Yim	Liberal Party (South Korea)}}"		Democratic Party (South Korea, 1955)}}"		Unification Party (South Korea)}}"
Seoul	Liberal Party (South Korea)}}; color:white;"	509,693	Liberal Party (South Korea)}}; color:white;"	55.34	378,399	41.09	20,154	2.19	12,704	1.38
Gyeonggi	Liberal Party (South Korea)}}; color:white;"	955,804	Liberal Party (South Korea)}}; color:white;"	75.64	278,686	22.05	20,372	1.61	8,771	0.69
Gangwon	Liberal Party (South Korea)}}; color:white;"	786,595	Liberal Party (South Korea)}}; color:white;"	91.64	64,743	7.54	5,468	0.64	1,543	0.18
North Chungcheong	Liberal Party (South Korea)}}; color:white;"	437,883	Liberal Party (South Korea)}}; color:white;"	78.64	98,583	17.70	15,196	2.73	5,165	0.93
South Chungcheong	Liberal Party (South Korea)}}; color:white;"	884,856	Liberal Party (South Korea)}}; color:white;"	84.74	140,567	13.46	12,488	1.20	6,327	0.61
North Jeolla	Liberal Party (South Korea)}}; color:white;"	851,878	Liberal Party (South Korea)}}; color:white;"	85.47	89,846	9.01	32,176	3.23	22,799	2.29
South Jeolla	Liberal Party (South Korea)}}; color:white;"	1,218,247	Liberal Party (South Korea)}}; color:white;"	83.84	140,664	9.68	80,491	5.54	13,612	0.94
North Gyeongsang	Liberal Party (South Korea)}}; color:white;"	1,166,341	Liberal Party (South Korea)}}; color:white;"	75.46	340,214	22.01	27,759	1.80	11,286	0.73
South Gyeongsang	Liberal Party (South Korea)}}; color:white;"	1,398,637	Liberal Party (South Korea)}}; color:white;"	79.46	311,320	17.69	34,869	1.98	15,284	0.87
Jeju	Liberal Party (South Korea)}}; color:white;"	127,125	Liberal Party (South Korea)}}; color:white;"	99.30	736	0.57	122	0.10	42	0.03
Total	Liberal Party (South Korea)}}; color:white;"	8,337,059	Liberal Party (South Korea)}}; color:white;"	79.19	1,843,758	17.51	249,095	2.37	97,533	0.93

References

[[Dieter Nohlen]], Florian Grotz & Christof Hartmann (2001) ''Elections in Asia: A data handbook, Volume II'', p. 420 {{ISBN. 0-19-924959-8
Han, S-J. (1974) ''The Failure of Democracy in South Korea''. University of California Press, p. 28.
Nohlen et al., p. 464
"3·15부정선거(三一五不正選擧) March 15 Election Fraud".
Lie, J. (2000) ''Han Unbound: The Political Economy of South Korea.'' Stanford University Press, p. 36.
Results of 1948-1992 Presidential Elections. National Election Commission of the Republic of Korea, 1996.
"개표현황".
Han, p. 29.
Han, p. 30.
Reeve, W. D. (1979) ''The Republic of Korea: A Political and Economic Study.'' Greenwood Press, p.50.

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