A constitutional referendum was held in South Korea on 21 November 1972. President Park Chung-hee had suspended the constitution and dissolved the National Assembly in October. Work began almost immediately on a new constitution. The finished product, the Yushin Constitution, was a severely authoritarian document that dramatically expanded the president's powers and allowed him to run for an unlimited number of six-year terms. For all intents and purposes, the document concentrated all governing power in Park's hands.
According to official figures, the new document was approved by 92.3% of voters, with a turnout of 91.9%.Nohlen et al, p427 The adoption of the constitution upon the announcement of the official referendum results ushered in the Fourth Republic of South Korea.
Results
By province RegionFor%Against%TotalTurnoutSeoul2,045,94182.5410,47416.62,479,58580.5Busan772,74985.0127,51214.0909,34693.9Gyeonggi1,508,71292.8104,7596.41,626,18794.2North Chungcheong621,72392.835,4535.3662,73994.9South Chungcheong1,213,61493.474,2255.71,298,68894.8Gangwon791,60895.829,7153.6826,39897.1North Jeolla1,015,48993.561,1865.61,086,54294.2South Jeolla1,686,34095.174,7414.21,773,22193.4North Gyeongsang1,983,08194.1104,8735.02,108,50195.3South Gyeongsang1,383,42494.474,9815.11,466,22795.3Jeju163,88594.68,2244.7173,28094.9Source: Kyunghyang Shinmun, 23 November 1972
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