South Korea; Snap polls on June 3 to elect a new President in a ‘headless’ country!
Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: A virtually ‘headless’ South Korea, on Tuesday, officially set June 3 for a snap presidential election, triggered by last week’s sacking of Yoon Suk Yeol from the highest office and his impeachment upheld by both parliament and the top court for alleged misuse of office and corruption.
With the announcement of fresh polls, leading contenders started throwing their hats in the ring on Tuesday itself, the media reported.
The power vacuum at the top of South Korean government has impeded Seoul’s efforts to negotiate with US President Donald Trump’s administration at a time of spiralling American tariffs and slowing growth in Asia’s fourth-largest economy. Trump has imposed 25 percent tariff on South Korean products.
Yoon was removed on Friday last week, primarily over his short-lived—six-hour-long–declaration of martial law in December 2024 that plunged the key US ally into crisis, and triggering a new election that could reshape its foreign and domestic policy.
“The government intends to designate June 3 as the 21st presidential election day,” Acting President Han Duck-soo told a Cabinet meeting, citing factors such as the time political parties need to prepare for the vote.
Yoon’s labour minister Kim Moon-soo is among the few hopefuls who have signalled their intention to run, resigning his post on Tuesday and saying he would launch his campaign.
While not officially a member of Yoon’s People Power Party at the moment, Kim has been polling better than other conservative contenders.
Ahn Cheol-soo, a PPP lawmaker who was its first to vote for Yoon’s impeachment, also declared his intention to run on Tuesday, saying he was a “cleaner candidate than anyone else.”
Ahn fought the last three presidential elections, winning more than 21 percent of the popular vote in 2017, but dropping out and endorsing other candidates in the other two. He is not polling high enough to be included in most recent surveys.
Kim and Ahn will join an open field of conservative candidates trying to overcome their party’s second impeachment in as many presidencies.
Earlier, Conservative Park Geun-hye, the 11th President (2013-17), was impeached, removed from office, and imprisoned over a corruption scandal.
Lee Jae-myung, the populist leader of the liberal Democratic Party who lost to Yoon by a razor-thin margin in 2022, is a clear front-runner, but faces legal challenges of his own. These include multiple trials for charges such as violating the election law and bribery. Nevertheless, he is expected to step down as DP leader and declare his candidacy as soon as this week.
A Gallup poll published on Friday showed 34 percent of respondents supported Lee as the next leader, while 9 percent backed Kim, 5 percent opted for former PPP leader Han Dong-hoon, 4 percent chose Daegu mayor Hong Joon-pyo, and 2 percent plumped for Seoul mayor Oh Se-hoon.
Incumbent Yoon was removed by the Constitutional Court for violating his official duty by issuing a martial law decree on December 3 and mobilising troops in a bid to halt parliamentary proceedings.
The law requires a new presidential election to be held within 60 days if the position becomes vacant.
Yoon still faces criminal insurrection charges, with arguments in his trial to begin on April 14.
South Korea has faced months of political turmoil since Yoon stunned the country by declaring martial law, triggering his impeachment by parliament and the impeachment of acting leader Han.
Han’s impeachment was later overturned by the Constitutional Court and he will stay in the role of acting president until the election.
