Former South Korean prime minister Han Duck-soo yesterday said he is to run in next month’s presidential election, and would seek to lessen the powers of the office and ease strife-ridden domestic politics if he wins.
Han’s entry heats up the scramble among conservatives to unify behind a candidate to compete with liberal front-runner Lee Jae-myung, whose campaign was set back by a court decision to open a new trial on election law contravention charges.
“I have determined to find what I can do for the future of the Republic of Korea that I love and for all of us. I will try my utmost to be chosen by the people at this presidential election,” Han told a press conference at the National Assembly.
Photo: AFP
South Korea is holding an early presidential election on June 3, after former South Korean president Yoon Suk-yeol was ousted over his imposition of martial law. Han was appointed prime minister, the No. 2 post, by Yoon, and he served as acting leader after Yoon was suspended and later removed from office. He also was prime minister under former president Roh Moo-hyun from 2007 to 2008 and has served as minister of trade, industry and energy, minister of economy and finance, and ambassador to the US during his 40-year career in public service.
He has never held elected office, but has risen politically, as the People Power Party (PPP) struggled in the wake of Yoon’s ouster.
Han does not belong to a political party, but contenders in the PPP have said they are willing to field a single candidate among them and Han. PPP members are scheduled to nominate their party’s candidate today.
Han said that if elected, he would launch a body to amend the constitution so the president and the assembly share powers based on the principle of checks and balances. His revisions would also bar the political circle and the judiciary branch from meddling in each other’s sectors.
In South Korea, executive power is heavily concentrated on a president, and there have been calls for change.
The new president would have full, single five-year term, but Han said he would serve three years to finish the constitutional revision and then leave.
Han said he would also use his expertise on economic affairs to resolve trade issues with Washington over US President Donald Trump’s tariff policies.
Lee’s main liberal opposition Democratic Party stepped up its offensive against Han, saying he is abandoning his duties as the government’s caretaker and lacks the moral standing to run for the presidency as a No. 2 official in the Yoon administration, responsible for many policy failures.
“We warn to former Prime Minister Han. Do not hide your greed with a lie that you are running for the people,” party spokesperson Noh Jong-myun said.
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