October 27, 1987 (Tue.) The 6th National Referendum

The direct presidential election system was adopted in June 1987, as a result of the Democratic Uprising. The 6th National Referendum for the 9th Constitutional Amendment was held on October 27, 1987. On September 21, 1987, President Chun, Doo-hwan switched the indirect presidential election system to the direct one and announced the constitutional amendment agenda which was about changing from a seven-year to a five-year single-term presidency. The national voting this time was the 6th of its kind and went smoothly based on the agreement on the constitutional amendment agenda between the ruling and opposition parties without any big contentious issue, unlike the past referendum. As a result, 78.2% or 20,028,672 out of 25,619,648 people cast a vote and, among them, 93.1% or 18,064,625 agreed on the amendment.