[Politics X-File] Overturning Election Results Through Recount, It Really Happens

16. 14th General Election, Recount in Seoul Nowon
100 Ballots of Im Chae-jeong Miscounted
Outcome Changed by Supreme Court Recount

Editor's Note‘Political X-File’ is a serialized project that delivers ‘unprecedented stories’ recorded in the election results and incidents of Korean politics.

There are those who feel the pain of losing in the National Assembly elections more than twice as much. These are the candidates who narrowly lost. Even after staying up all night regretting the past election campaign, their empty hearts cannot be comforted.

"If only I had done this then," "If only I had made the final move like this"...

No matter how much you regret, it is already in the past. In the current single-member district system for National Assembly elections, the person who gets even one more vote than others wins. The loser, no matter how narrowly defeated, is just a loser.

Anyone who narrowly loses is tormented by the temptation of a recount. The faint hope that the result might be overturned if the votes are counted again. The problem is that attempting a recount is not a simple matter.

To request a recount, one must follow legal procedures, and it is known that the costs, including attorney fees, can reach tens of millions of won. This is a huge amount that ordinary politicians find difficult to choose easily.

Another issue is the political burden of choosing to review the results. Showing an attitude of not humbly accepting the will of the people and refusing to accept the results can make one appear as a petty politician.

On June 1, 2022, officials are conducting vote counting using a ballot sorter at the 8th nationwide local election counting center set up at Eunpyeong Multipurpose Gymnasium in Eunpyeong-gu, Seoul. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

Especially for politicians aiming for important positions through elections such as the president or the mayor of Seoul, they must also learn ‘how to lose well.’ Actions like calling for a review can have the effect of diminishing one’s political stature.

An interesting point is that it is hard to dismiss the idea of overturning results through a National Assembly recount as mere fantasy. Although the probability is low, there have been cases in Korean politics where a National Assembly badge was regained through the recount process.

A representative case is the July 20, 1992, recount in Nowon-gu B district of Seoul. This recount was held in courtroom 101 of the Northern Branch of the Seoul District Court under the review of the Supreme Court’s Special 2nd Division.

Democratic Party candidate Im Chae-jung requested the recount. His opponent was Kim Yong-chae of the Democratic Liberal Party. Initially, the election commission’s count showed Kim Yong-chae with 40,551 votes, leading Im Chae-jung who had 40,515 votes by 36 votes.

Kim Yong-chae’s side could not help but be nervous about Im Chae-jung’s recount request. They could lose the National Assembly seat in Nowon-gu B that they had already secured. The recount is a political event that makes both the loser and the winner uneasy.

Assemblyman Im Chae-jung giving a media interview regarding the recount results of the July 20, 1992, National Assembly election in Nowon-gu Eul, Seoul.
[Photo by KBS News9 broadcast screen capture]

Who was the real winner of the 14th general election in Nowon-gu B, Seoul?

The recount result, which attracted intense media attention at the time, was decided at an unexpected point. Around 11 a.m. on July 20, 1992, on the day of the recount, it was discovered that a bundle of 100 ballots marked for candidate Im Chae-jung at the second polling station in Sanggye 5-dong, Nowon-gu, had been mistakenly counted as votes for Congressman Kim.

Im Chae-jung’s side was excited at the thought that the result could be overturned. The final tally showed Im Chae-jung leading by 172 votes. Im Chae-jung was found to have 40,601 votes, while Kim Yong-chae had 40,429 votes.

At that time, the recount between Im Chae-jung and Kim Yong-chae was not difficult to correct because the misclassification of the 100-ballot bundle was acknowledged. If the dispute had been over valid or invalid votes affecting the outcome, the legal procedures could have been much more complicated and difficult.

As a result, the 14th National Assembly seat for Seoul Nowon was won by candidate Im Chae-jung. The Im Chae-jung?Kim Yong-chae recount case remains a topic of conversation in Yeouido’s political circles even 30 years later. The vote counting environment has changed significantly since then.

Since the introduction of ballot sorting machines, mistakes like the misclassification of ballot bundles seen in 1992 reportedly no longer occur. The probability of overturning election results through a recount has also become much lower.