2022 South Korean Presidential Election

Presidential elections were held in South Korea on 9 March 2022. They were the eighth presidential elections since democratization and the establishment of the Sixth Republic, and were held under a first-past-the-post system, in which there was a single round of voting and the candidate receiving the highest number of votes was elected. Under the South Korean constitution, a president is restricted to a single five-year term in office. The term of the then incumbent president Moon Jae-in ended on 9 May 2022. According to the Korea Times, 30.3 million people voted with turnout at 71.7%.

Background
On 9 February 2022 the official census was published, identifying the number of eligible voters, with the electoral rolls compiled and published on 13 and 14 February, before being finalised on 25 February. Pre-registration of candidates began on 27 February.

Registered candidates
Ballot numbers for party candidates were given according to the candidate's party seat distribution in the National Assembly. Ballot numbers for independent candidates were determined through a random lottery by the National Election Commission.

Democratic Party
The Democratic Party (Korean: 더불어민주당) is the ruling political party of South Korea following its victories in the 2017 presidential election, 2018 local elections and the 2020 National Assembly election. While the current party was technically founded in 2014, it should be understood as the current iteration of South Korea's long line of liberal parties dating back to the original Democratic Party that was founded in 1955. The party is considered to be something of a big tent party comprising both centrist and liberal factions. Politicians in the party generally support a social market economy with a strong social safety net, anti-corruption measures, direct democracy, and environmentalist policies. On matters of foreign policy, the party supports reconciliation and eventual reunification with North Korea. Incumbent president Moon Jae-in, a member of the party, is ineligible to run for reelection due to term limits. The party is particularly strong in Honam region.

Following and prior to his victory in the crucial district of Jongno in the 2020 legislative election, former Prime Minister Lee Nak-yeon emerged as the frontrunner for both the Democratic Party's nomination and the general election. Lee, who is celebrated for his expertise on Japanese relations and administrative capabilities he has shown during his time as South Jeolla Provincial Governor and President Moon Jae-in's first Prime minister, is supported by Moon's faction of the party evinced by his landslide victory in party leadership contest. However, Lee's January 2021 proposal to pardon corrupt former conservative presidents Park Geun-hye and Lee Myung-bak led to a fall in his support. Gyeonggi Governor Lee Jae-Myung, who ran a left-wing populist campaign for president in 2017 while Mayor of Seongnam, has emerged as the most popular prospective candidate across parties as a result of his well-received response to the 2019 coronavirus pandemic and his proposal for a universal basic income. Moon's second prime minister, Chung Sye-kyun, also resigned to run for the presidency.

Primary schedule and process
The nominating primaries are scheduled to be held in September 2021, although representatives of the Lee Nak-yon and Chung Sye-kyun camps have called for the primaries to be delayed to November. The calls to delay the primary are seen to be attempts to prevent frontrunner Lee Jae-myung from getting the nomination, as he is the most preferred candidate among the public and the party.

On 25 June, the party's supreme council decided to hold the primary as scheduled by 10 September. The timetable for the process is as follows:


 * 28 to 30 June - Registration of candidates
 * 9 to 11 July - Preliminary primary involving a 50:50 survey of the general public and party members
 * 11 July - announcement of the top six candidates eligible for the main primary
 * Before 10 September - Announcement of primary result and party nominee

On 19 July, the party announced a delay in the final selection of candidates to mid-October due to an upsurge in COVID-19 cases in South Korea.

Primary candidates
The following individuals are candidates for the Democratic party primaries, in sequence of announcement of candidacy:
 * Lee Nak-yeon, former Member of the National Assembly (2000-2014, 2016-2021), former Prime Minister (2017-2020), former Governor of South Jeolla (2014-2017) and former leader of the Democratic Party of Korea (2020-2021)
 * Park Yong-jin, Member of the National Assembly (2016-Present)
 * Choo Mi-ae, former Minister of Justice (2020-2021), former Member of the National Assembly (1996-2004, 2008-2020) and former leader of the Democratic Party of Korea (2016-2018)

Eliminated candidates
On 11 July 2021, Democratic Party of Korea narrowed its primary candidates down to six in the first round of the party primary. As a result, two candidates have been eliminated.
 * Yang Seung-jo, Governor of South Chungcheong (2018-Present), former Member of the National Assembly (2004-2018)
 * Choi Moon-soon, Governor of Gangwon Province (2011-Present), former Member of the National Assembly (2008-2011)

Withdrawn candidates

 * Lee Kwang-jae, Member of the National Assembly (2004-2010, 2020-Present), former Governor of Gangwon (2010-2011)  (announced 27 May 2021, withdrew on 5 July and endorsed Chung Sye-kyun)
 * Chung Sye-kyun, former Prime Minister (2020-2021), former Speaker of the National Assembly (2016-2018), former Member of the National Assembly (2004-2020) (announced 17 June 2021, withdrew on 13 September)
 * Kim Doo-kwan, Member of the National Assembly (2016-Present), former Governor of South Gyeongsang (2010-2012), former Minister of Government Administration and Home Affairs (2003) (announced candidacy 1 July 2021, withdrew on 26 September and endorsed Lee Jae-myung)

Primary campaign
The primary campaign saw clashes which became increasingly heated between Lee Nak-yeon and Lee Jae-myung.

Primary
Candidate was determined by a combination of opinion polls, conducted between March 30 to March 31 (50%), and the votes cast by the delegates at the party convention held on March 31 (50%). Candidates were:
 * Yoon Seok-youl, former Prosecutor General of South Korea (2019-2021)
 * Hong Jun-pyo, Hong Jun-pyo, Member of the National Assembly (1996-1999, 2001-2021, 2020-Present), former Governor of South Gyeongsang (2012-2017), former leader of the Liberty Korea Party, and 2017 Liberal Korea Party presidential nominee.
 * Yoo Seong-min, former Member of the National Assembly (2005-2020), 2017 Bareun Party presidential nominee, former leader of the Bareunmirae Party (2018), and former leader of the Bareun Party (2017-2018).
 * Choi Jae-hyung, former judge and Chairman of the Board of Audit and Inspection (2018-2021)

Primary
Candidates were determined by a closed voting of the party members. Candidates were:
 * Sim Sang-jung, 2017 Justice Party presidential nominee, Member of the National Assembly (2004-2008, 2012-Present), and former leader of the Justice Party (2015-2017, 2019-2020) (announced 18 August 2021)
 * Lee Jeong-mi, former member of the National Assembly(2016-2020) and former leader of the Justice Party (2017-2019) (announced 23 August 2021)

Lee Jeong-mi was nominated as the candidate of the Justice Party on October 6.