Presidential elections were held in South Korea on 6 December 1979 following the assassination of Park Chung Hee on 26 October. The members of the National Conference for Unification, who among other things, were responsible for election of president, chose Prime Minister Choi Kyu-hah as the President of the Republic of Korea unopposed; Choi had been acting President since Park's death.Asia Watch Committee (1986). Human Rights in Korea. p. 31.
President Choi was supposed to serve for the remainder of late President Park's term, which would have ended in 1984. However, a coup d'état took place six days after the elections, with Chun Doo-hwan seizing power. He allowed Choi to remain in power for eight months, before being elected president in August 1980.
Results In order to be elected, a candidate had to receive the vote of over 50% of the incumbent members of the National Conference for Unification. With 2,560 delegates present, Choi had to receive at least 1,281 votes to be elected. He received 2,465 votes, 96% of the total possible.
Electors by province and city Province/CityTurnout%ElectorsVacantTotalSeoul38899.493901391Busan14499.311450145Gyeonggi3181003181319Gangwon14898.671501151North Chungcheong1301001301131South Chungcheong2321002323235North Jeolla20099.012021203South Jeolla30999.363111312North Gyeongsang36999.463718379South Gyeongsang2841002846290Jeju2710027027Total2,54999.572,560232,583
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