South Korea will hold a presidential election on 3 June, the country’s acting president said on Tuesday, after predecessor Yoon Suk Yeol was impeached and removed from office over a disastrous declaration of martial law.
The government “is to set June 3 as the date for South Korea’s 21st presidential election”, prime minister Han Duck-soo said, adding that the day would be designated as a temporary public holiday to facilitate voting.
Yoon was removed by the constitutional court for violating his official duty by issuing the martial law decree on 3 December and mobilising troops in an attempt to halt parliamentary proceedings.
The law requires a new presidential election within 60 days if the position becomes vacant.
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 prime minister Han Duck-soo, who is also acting president.
Han’s impeachment was later overturned by the constitutional court and he will continue in the role of acting president until the election.
The power vacuum at the top of South Korea’s government has overshadowed Seoul’s efforts to deal with the administration of US President Donald Trump at a time of spiralling US tariffs and slowing growth in Asia’s fourth-largest economy.
Lee Jae-myung, the populist leader of the opposition liberal Democratic party who had lost to Yoon by a razor-thin margin in 2022, is a clear front-runner but faces legal challenges of his own under multiple trials for charges including violating the election law and bribery.
Yoon’s conservative People Power party has a wide-open field of candidates, led by labour minister Kim Moon-soo, who announced his intention to run on Tuesday.
According to a Gallup poll published on 4 April, 34% of respondents supported Lee as the next leader, 9% backed conservative Kim Moon-soo, 5% former ruling party leader Han Dong-hoon, 4% Daegu mayor Hong Joon-pyo, and 2% Seoul mayor Oh Se-hoon.
With Reuters and Agence France-Presse