December 18, 1992 (Fri.) The 14th Presidential Election

At the end of the 13th President Noh, Tae-woo’s term (5 Years), the 14th presidential election was held on December 18, 1992. The competition was among eight candidates for the 14th presidential election, but three people emerged as the main competitors from the early stages: Kim, Young-sam from the ruling party (Democratic Liberal Party), Kim, Dae-jung from the leading opposition party (Democratic Party) and Jung, Joo-young (United National Party). Kim, Young-sam proposed building a “New Korea” arguing the need to cure the so-called ”Korea Syndrome,” while Kim, Dae-jung called for a replacement of the existing government chanting that “Now is the time to change.“ Candidate Jung emphasized his ability to deal with the economy based on his successful management of a large corporation representing himself as an “Economic President.”
Unlike the 13th presidential election, there were no campaigns mobilizing mass audience or violence. Still, regionalism remained. Particularly, due to the influence of the consolidation of three political parties, confrontation between the southwestern region and the non-southwestern regions (the power bases of the three political parties) became severe. To address the issue of absentee ballot fraud, a separate place to count absentee ballots was created for the first time in history.
As a result, Kim, Young-sam (Democratic Liberal Party) won 42% of valid votes to become elected. Unlike the 13th presidential election, the unsuccessful candidates duly acknowledged the results. Furthermore, the other candidates (Kim, Dae-jung and Jung, Joo-young) declared their retirement from the political scene.