South Korea Presidential Race Heats Up After Ex-President’s Removal

South Korea’s political landscape is in flux as a presidential election looms following the Constitutional Court’s permanent removal of former President Yoon Suk Yeol last week, Bloomberg reports.

With the election slated for June 3, key political figures are vying for the nation’s top job.

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the opposition Democratic Party and narrow runner-up to Yoon in the 2022 election, has signaled his intention to run. Recent Gallup polls indicate Lee as the frontrunner, with 34% of respondents supporting him. Despite his popularity, Lee, 60, faces legal challenges, having been indicted in five separate cases, though an appeals court recently acquitted him in a case related to election law violations.

The People Power Party (PPP), which will remain in power until the election, is also seeing a flurry of activity as potential candidates jostle for the party’s nomination. Former Labor Minister Kim Moon-soo announced his candidacy Wednesday and currently holds second place in the polls with approximately 9% support. Kim has experienced a surge in approval ratings among Yoon supporters for his unwavering defense of the former president’s actions.

The upcoming election is a crucial step for South Korea, an export-driven nation grappling with the fallout from Yoon’s short-lived martial law decree, which triggered the country’s worst constitutional crisis in decades. The leadership vacuum has also hindered South Korea’s ability to navigate US President Donald Trump’s tariff campaign, although Acting President Han Duck-soo recently secured a direct phone call with Trump on Tuesday.

The next leader will face a formidable array of challenges, including unifying a deeply divided nation, bolstering an economy strained by ongoing trade tensions, and addressing the escalating nuclear ambitions of North Korea.

Other potential PPP candidates include Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, former party chair Hong Joon-pyo, and former Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon. Han, whose popularity briefly surged after opposing the martial law order, resigned after supporting an opposition-led impeachment motion in December.

The PPP is scheduled to hold a primary on May 3 to select its nominee who will compete against Lee and other contenders in the June 3 election. The electorate remains sharply divided, with 35% saying they back the PPP and 41% supporting the Democratic Party, according to the Gallup Poll.