June 4, 1998 (Thu.) The 2nd Nationwide Simultaneous Local Elections

On June 4, 1998, local elections were held in the following Constituencies at the same time: 16 constituencies for the heads of gwangyeok city (metropolitan city) and Provinces; 232 constituencies for the heads of municipal governments; 616 constituencies for the council members of gwangyeok city and Provinces; and 3,456 constituencies for the council members of municipal governments. The 2nd Nationwide Simultaneous local election was given attention in that it served as a litmus test to check on President Kim Dae-jung’s power base at the earlier stage since his inauguration three months ago. The National Congress for New Politics and the United Liberal Democrats which successfully held power through a party affiliation in the 15th Presidential Election pushed for a joint nomination.
Ahead of election amid the financial crisis, an improvement in high-cost political structure and financially efficient clean election were in higher demand among Korean voters. In response to this demand, the number of local assembly constituencies and the number of quorum dramatically decreased. With an amendment of the Election Act, many restrictions had been imposed on political campaign activities in order to prevent an expensive election. Business card-type and small-sized print material and banners were banned. PR materials were also restricted. To prevent an excessive number of candidates, return requirements for deposited funds became stricter as well.
The turnout rate was quite low at 52.6%. It dramatically dropped, even relatively speaking, compared to that of the 15th Presidential Election (80.7%) held six months before and that of the 1st Nationwide Simultaneous local election (68.4%) in 1995. The rate was particularly low in big cities. All the metropolitan cities except the city of Ulsan, which saw a neck-and-neck race in the metropolitan city mayor election, recorded 40% or a bit higher.
For the elections of the heads of gwangyeok city and Provinces, the Grand National Party produced 6 winners, while the National Congress for New Politics won 6 and United Liberal Democrats won 4. For the head of the municipal government, the Grand National Party produced 74, while the National Congress for New Politics won 84, the United Liberal Democrats took 29, the People’s New Party held 1 and non-partisan individuals produced 44. For the metropolitan council member election, the Grand National Party won 224, while the National Congress for New Politics took 271, the United Liberal Democrats won 82 and independent candidates held 39. As a party nomination was not allowed for the municipal government council member election, the candidate order was represented as “A, B, C.” But the index matched the party index where the order is expressed as ‘1, 2, 3.’ For example, the southwestern region produced the most B winners who were from Party 2, while candidates with “A” from Party 1 were elected the most in the southeastern region.