At stake in this election:

• The office of President of South Korea

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: President KIM Young-sam 
• Head of Government: Prime Minister 
• Assembly: South Korea has a unicameral National Assembly (Kukhoe) with 299 seats.

Description of electoral system:

• The President is elected by plurality vote to serve a 5-year term.
• The Prime Minister is appointed by the president with the approval of the parliament.
• In the National Assembly (Kukhoe), 243 members are elected by plurality vote in single-member constituencies to serve 4-year terms and 56 members are elected through a closed-list proportional representation system to serve 4-year terms.

Main Candidates in the Presidential race:

• Gwon Yeong-gil
  • Party: Independent
• Huh Kyeong-yeong
  • Party: Independent
• Kim Dae-jung
  • Party: Min Joo Dang
• Kim Han-sik
  • Party: Independent
• Lee Hoi-chang 
  • Party: Grand National Party
• Lee In-je
  • Party: Independent
• Shin Jeong-il
  • Party: Independent

Last Presidential election:

• The last presidential election was held on 18 December 1992. Kim Young-sam was elected with 42% of the vote.

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 45,953,580 (1997)
• Registered Voters: 32,290,416 (1997)

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 22,921,570 (1997)

·         Is South Korea a signatory to CEDAW: Yes (25 May 1983)

·         Has South Korea ratified CEDAW: Yes (27 December 1984)

·         Gender Quota: Yes[5]

·         Female candidates in this election: No

·         Number of Female Parliamentarians: 9 (following the 1996 elections)

·         Human Development Index Position: 17 (2014)

·         Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: N/A

Disability Data:

·         Is South Korea a signatory to CRPD: Yes (30 March 2007)

·         Has South Korea ratified CRPD: Yes (11 December 2008)

·         Population with a disability: 6,893,037 (est.)