The ROK adopted a five-year single-term system for the presidency in a 1987 constitu- tional amendment, and the president is elected by the direct vote of citizens at least 19 years old. The 18th presidential election in 2012 at- tracted candidates such as Geun-hye Park of the Saenuri Party, Jae-in Moon of the Democratic United Party, and independents Jong-son Park, So-yeon Kim, Ji-won Kang, and Sun-ja Kim.

Voters chose Geun-hye Park of the Saenuri Party, who received 51.55 percent of the vote. Jae-in Moon of the Democratic United Party received 48.02 percent. Presidential elections generally are between candidates who are of either a progressive or conservative political orientation. Voting tendencies also vary by re- gion, urban-rural divide, class, and gender. Vot- ing tendency by generation as well as by region

have emerged as important factors in election results, leading to high interest in the differenc- es in voter turnout by region and generation. Older and middle-aged voters tend to vote at higher rates than their younger counterparts and the voter turnout rate is generally higher in rural areas than in urban areas.