1997 South Korean Presidential Election
First transfer of power18 December 1997 · Democratisation
Presidential elections were held in South Korea on 18 December 1997. The result was a victory for opposition candidate Kim Dae-jung, who won with 40% of the vote.
President before
Kim Young-sam
Independent
Elected President
Kim Dae-jung
National Congress
Winning share
40.3%
Turnout
80.7%
The result
| Kim Dae-jung | National Congress for New Politics | 10,326,275 | 40.27% |
| Lee Hoi-chang | Grand National Party | 9,935,718 | 38.75% |
| Lee In-je | New National Party | 4,925,591 | 19.21% |
| Kwon Young-ghil | People's Victory for 21st Century | 306,026 | 1.19% |
| Shin Jeong Yil | Unified Korea Party | 61,056 | 0.24% |
| Kim Han-sik | Honest Politics Unite | 48,717 | 0.19% |
| Huh Kyung-young | Republican Party | 39,055 | 0.15% |