On the afternoon of May 1st local time, South Korea's Acting President and Prime Minister Han Deok - soo delivered a national address, announcing his resignation from both positions.
It is reported that Han Deok - soo will leave the government building after a brief farewell ceremony this afternoon.
Han Deok - soo's move is interpreted as a decision to participate in the 21st presidential election. It is expected that he will officially announce his candidacy in the near future.
After Han Deok - soo's resignation, the presidential powers will be temporarily exercised by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Choi Sang - moo.
South Korea will hold a new presidential election on June 3rd.
On April 4th, South Korea's Constitutional Court announced the approval of the impeachment of President Yoon Suk - yeol, and Yoon was immediately removed from office. South Korea is scheduled to hold a new presidential election on June 3rd.
On May 1st, a joint poll by four South Korean polling agencies on the popularity of presidential candidates showed that Lee Jae - myung, the candidate of the Democratic Party, led with 42% support. Han Deok - soo had 13% support. Han Dong - hun and Kim Moon - soo, the candidates in the primary of the People Power Party, had 9% and 6% support respectively. Lee Jun - sik, the candidate of the Justice Party, had 2% support.
Can Han Deok - soo's entry into the race bring variables to the election?
Currently, South Korea is in a special period of holding an early presidential election after the president's impeachment, and various political forces are competing with each other. The largest opposition party, the Democratic Party, has determined that Lee Jae - myung will represent the party in the election. Today's ruling of the South Korean Supreme Court has removed one obstacle from Lee's path to candidacy. However, the situation on the ruling party side is much more complicated. First, the primary within the ruling party is still in full swing. Former Minister of Employment and Labor Kim Moon - soo and former party leader Han Dong - hun are currently in the final competition. According to the original plan, the winner of the two will represent the ruling People Power Party in the presidential election.
South Korea's Acting President Han Deok - soo's resignation to participate in the presidential election means that the ruling party's election situation is facing major variables again. As of now, there are some voices within the ruling party hoping that Han Deok - soo can represent the ruling party in the election. However, how to make other candidates who have participated in multiple rounds of the primary give up their qualifications is an urgent problem to be solved. In addition, Han Deok - soo has no party background. Although he served as the prime minister of the Yoon Suk - yeol government, if he joins the ruling party at this time, whether he can get the support within the party is also a key issue.
If Han Deok - soo chooses to run independently, it is obviously difficult for him to unite the conservative political forces. Therefore, the current situation within the ruling party is very complicated. In short, for the conservative political forces in South Korea, that is, the current ruling party, their common goal is to prevent Lee Jae - myung from being elected president, but there is no clear plan yet on who should be sent to run for a better chance of winning.
The prosecution has additionally indicted Yoon Suk - yeol, and the chaos in South Korea's political arena continues.
Another important piece of news this afternoon is that South Korea's prosecution has additionally indicted Yoon Suk - yeol on the charge of abuse of power. Previously, the trial of Yoon's alleged involvement in the crime of insurrection was ongoing, and now he has a new charge. In addition, the investigation into the case involving Yoon's wife is also continuing. There have been continuous news from all sides in the past two days. In the next period, the progress of South Korea's presidential election and Yoon - related cases will continue to have more impacts on South Korea's political arena.
