South Korean Acting President Han Duck-soo yesterday said that he was resigning amid reports he will run in next month’s presidential election.
Han said in a televised briefing that he determined he would quit to take “a bigger responsibility” for the country.
South Korean media reported that Han would officially launch his presidential campaign today.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Han was appointed prime minister, the country’s No. 2 post, by former South Korean president Yoon Suk-yeol, who was removed from office, triggering the by-election.
Han has been emerging as a potential conservative standard bearer, as the People Power Party remains in disarray over Yoon’s imposition of martial law on Dec. 3 last year.
Observers say that Han is expected to align with the People Power Party to launch a unified conservative campaign against front-runner Lee Jae-myung.
However, the South Korean Supreme Court yesterday overturned a ruling that found Lee not guilty of contravening election law, potentially scuppering his chances to run in the June 3 election.
The former opposition leader had been cleared by a lower court in March of making false statements during a previous campaign, removing a major legal hurdle to his latest bid, but the Supreme Court ordered a retrial that could see Lee, who is leading in the polls, barred from the snap election.
The top court ruled there had been a “legal misunderstanding” resulting in his acquittal, overturning the earlier decision.
Lee’s statements during his unsuccessful campaign for president in 2022 were “deemed false claims concerning matters of sufficient significance to mislead voters in assessing the candidate’s suitability for public office,” the Supreme Court ruled.
If found guilty by a lower court, Lee would be barred from running for office for five years and could face a prison sentence or a fine of more than 1 million won (US$702).
Lee could appeal any verdict against him, but experts say it is unlikely the case would be concluded before the election.
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