[Politics X-File] Mysterious Death of Presidential Candidate... Invalid Votes Pouring Down Like Rain

(33) Death of Shin Ik-hee, 3rd Presidential Candidate in 1956
Died Two Days After Seoul Campaign Crowded with People
Invalid Votes in Seoul Exceeded Votes for Candidate Syngman Rhee

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

A politician who embarked on a presidential election campaign with the enthusiastic support of countless crowds. Voters who wholeheartedly decided to cast their votes for him. The time when curiosity grew about what the election results would be and whether he would ascend to the presidency. But a ‘mysterious death’ changed everything.

An incident where a leading presidential candidate lost his life just before the presidential election. Was this an event that happened in a politically underdeveloped country? Or was it a scene from a political novel? This is a part of our history deeply engraved in the political history of the Republic of Korea.

This incident occurred ahead of the 3rd presidential election on May 15, 1956. The figure who shocked the nation with his sudden death was Haegong Shin Ik-hee, an independence activist and politician. Politician Shin Ik-hee served as Deputy Minister of the Interior and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Provisional Government.

Politician Shin Ik-hee was a political heavyweight who served as Vice Speaker of the Constituent National Assembly and Speaker of the 2nd National Assembly. He prepared to run for president against President Syngman Rhee’s Liberal Party government and aimed to reach the pinnacle of his political career in the 3rd presidential election in 1956.

On the 1st, the day of the 8th nationwide local elections, voters are casting their precious votes at the 7th polling station in Bukgajwa 2-dong, set up at Seoul Sangsa Taxi Meter in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

The Seoul campaign held on the afternoon of May 3, 1956, at the Han River sandbank was a scene that turned the phrase ‘packed with people’ into reality. Considering Seoul’s population at the time, it was unimaginable that hundreds of thousands of people flocked to Shin Ik-hee’s campaign rally.

When selecting iconic moments in Korean political history, the May 3, 1956, Han River sandbank campaign is always included. The passionate public sentiment toward Democratic Party presidential candidate Shin Ik-hee sent shockwaves strong enough to shake the election landscape.

Interest in the May 15 presidential election intensified. Could politician Shin Ik-hee create a new government beyond the Liberal Party government? Or would President Syngman Rhee’s Liberal Party continue to hold power?

At the height of public interest, a shocking event occurred. Two days after the Han River sandbank campaign, on May 5, 1956, politician Shin Ik-hee boarded a train for a campaign in the Honam region but passed away due to a cerebral hemorrhage.

Politician Shin Ik-hee’s death stirred a whirlwind around the presidential election. When his remains arrived at Seoul Station, crowds clashed with police while attempting to move toward Gyeongmudae, demanding “clarify the cause of death.” The anger of the enraged citizens did not subside easily.

Commemorative photo of the State Council of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea taken on October 11, 1919. From the front row left, counterclockwise: Shin Ik-hee, Ahn Chang-ho, Hyeon Sun, Lee Chun-sook, Choi Chang-sik, Yoon Hyun-jin, Kim Cheol.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

The sudden death of a leading candidate just before the election inevitably sparked political conspiracy theories. Apart from the mourning for politician Shin Ik-hee, the 3rd presidential election proceeded as scheduled.

The 3rd presidential election on May 15, 1956, ended with the victory of Liberal Party candidate Syngman Rhee. Regardless of the confirmation of the winner, that year’s election left another story etched in political history: the unprecedented number of invalid votes. The invalid votes in the 3rd presidential election were record-breaking.

For reference, the most recent 20th presidential election held last year had 307,542 invalid votes, about 1% of the total voters. However, the 3rd presidential election had 1,856,818 invalid votes. The total votes cast were 9,067,063. This means about one-fifth, or roughly 20%, of the votes were invalid.

In Seoul, candidate Syngman Rhee received 205,353 votes, while invalid votes reached 283,459.

In Seoul, the number of invalid votes exceeded the votes received by the winning presidential candidate. How was this possible?

The fervor to commemorate politician Shin Ik-hee led to the surge of invalid votes in the election. Since he was no longer alive, voters could not cast ballots for him, but by submitting invalid votes, they expressed their political will.

Although the 3rd presidential election ended rather easily with Syngman Rhee’s vote share reaching 70%, a closer look reveals it was an election that made the ruling party at the time nervous.