Voting Starts in 16th Presidential Election (South Korea)

Chosun ^ | Updated Dec.18,2002 18:50 KST | Choi Joon-seo

[Int]

Voting Starts in 16th Presidential Election

by Choi Joon-seo (jschoi@chosun.com)

The 16th presidential election will be take place on Thursday December 19 at 13,471 polling places nationwide from 6:00am until 6:00pm.

Grand National Party presidential candidate Lee Hoi-chang held a press conference on the eve of the Election Day and said if the people look at the totally failed statecraft and unjustifiable corruption of the last 5 years, they should make a clear judgment on a Millennium Democratic Party administration that has already failed. Lee added that Thursday would be the day of choice between stability and instability, saying the Republic of Korea was built by blood and sweat, and cannot be left in the hands of instable and immature radical groups. He said he hoped the unified power of the people would change the regime, as it was the only way to save the country from an immediate and desperate crisis.

Roh Moo-hyun of the Millennium Democratic Party also met with the press and said the election was the best chance to end tensions originating from regionalism. Roh commented that after joining the political circle, he risked his political life to overcome this. He said the election would be the watershed for peace and prosperity, while ending the Cold War confrontation between North and South Korea. The MDP candidate noted some opinions called for the suspension of economic relations between the two Koreas, but said this would only bring tension to the country. He said he would start a new era of national unity, while finishing off imperial authoritarianism.

Chang Se-dong, an independent presidential candidate released a public statement Wednesday announcing his withdrawal from the race. Chang said he had decided to withdraw from the presidential candidacy for the country¡¯s development. As a result, only six presidential candidates; Lee and Roh, Hanaro National Union's Lee Han-dong, Kwon Young-ghil of the Democratic Labor Party, the Socialist Party's Kim Young-kyu, and Kim Kil-su remain in the race.

The National Election Committee said a total of 34.99 million voters were eligible to participate in voting and the election result may be known as early as 9:00pm. Voting rates have been decreasing in the elections; the 14th Presidential Election saw an 81.9 percent turnout, while the 15th marked 80.7 percent. The NEC expects a little more, or less than 80 percent will vote in the election.