Seoul [South Korea], May 3: Yesterday, former South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-so officially announced his candidacy for the Blue House, just hours after resigning, leaving the acting presidency to Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok. However, Choi also resigned on the evening of May 1 when the opposition-controlled parliament (DP) suddenly restarted the impeachment proceedings against him, regarding decisions he made as acting president between the end of December 2024 and the end of March this year. After those developments, Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister Lee Joo-ho became acting president from 0:00 on May 2, according to Yonhap.
Speaking at a news conference at the National Assembly, Han Duck-so said, "I decided to find something I could do for the future of the country I love and for all of us. I will do my best to be chosen by the people in the upcoming presidential election." Former Premier Han said that if elected, he would push for constitutional amendments and shorten the presidential term from five years to three years to hold parliamentary and presidential elections at the same time. Mr. Han is also committed to leveraging his experience in leading many successful trade negotiations to resolve current trade issues. He added that he would open the door to dialogue and was ready to meet with the DPRK leader if necessary.
Mr. Han Duck-so is currently running as an independent candidate. The ruling People's Power Party (PPP) is expected to choose a representative candidate to run on May 3. The two prominent candidates in the PPP are former party leader Han Dong-hoon and former Labor Minister Kim Moon-so. According to Yonhap's assessment, Mr. Han Duck-so is one of the presidential candidates popular with conservative voters.
Challenging the opposition
Meanwhile, the person who is leading most of the pre-election polls is Lee Jae-myung, the former leader of the main opposition DP party. With his support by a margin, Lee Jae-myung is expected to be one of the most serious candidates. Yesterday, he announced that he would seek to revive the 2018 inter-Korean military agreement and stop distributing leaflets at the border if elected.
However, the development became increasingly intense when the South Korean Supreme Court on May 1 annulled the ruling of a lower court, putting Lee Jae-myung at risk of not being able to run for president. Specifically, the Seoul court in March acquitted him of allegations of violating the election law in 2022, but in the latest decision, the Supreme Court affirmed that Mr. Lee violated the law by publicly giving false information and requesting that the case be transferred back to the appellate court. Lee Jae-myung expressed disappointment with the court's ruling, but stressed that he has no intention of withdrawing from the race for the Blue House.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper
