Republic of Korea: President, 9 May 2017

At stake in this election:

• The office of the President of South Korea

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State:  acting President HWANG Kyo-ahn (since 9 December 2016)
• Head of Government:  Prime Minister HWANG Kyo-ahn (since 18 June 2015)
• Assembly:  South Korea has a unicameral National Assembly of 300 seats.

Description of electoral system:

• The president is directly elected by majority popular vote in a single-round system. The president is elected to a single 5-year term.
• The prime minister is appointed by the president with the approval of the National Assembly.

Last Election:

• President PARK Geun-Hye of the Saenuri Party was elected with 51.6% of the vote in the 2012 election, narrowly defeating MOON Jae-In of the Democratic Party (48% of the vote).
• President PARK was impeached by the National Assembly on 9 December 2016. The vote was upheld by the Constitutional Court on 10 March 2017.  Prime Minister HWANG Kyo-ahn has been serving as acting president since December 2016. A full explanation of the process is available HERE.

Main candidates in the election:

• MOON Jae-In
  • Democratic Party of Korea / Deobureo Minjudang; 더불어민주당
• AHN Cheol-soo
  • People's Party / Gungminui Dang;  국민의당
• HONG Joon-pyo
  • Liberty Korea Party / Jayuhangukdang; 자유한국당
• YOO Seong-Min
  • Bareun Party / Bareun Jeongdang; 바른정당
• SIM Sang-jung
  • Justice Party / Jeonguidang; 정의당

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 50,924,172 (July 2016)
• Registered Voters: 42,100,398 (April 2016)

Gender Data:

• Female Population: 25,425,132 (July 2016)
• Is Korea a signatory to CEDAW: Yes (25 May 1983)
• Has Korea ratified CEDAW: Yes (27 December 1984)
• Gender Quota: Yes
• Female candidates in this election: Yes
• Number of Female Parliamentarians: 51
• Human Development Index Position: 17
• Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization:  N/A

Disability Data:

• Is Korea a signatory to CRPD: Yes (30 March 2007)
• Has Korea ratified CRPD: Yes (11 December 2008)
• Population with a disability: 7,367,279