Leading contenders began casting their ballots on Tuesday as South Korea officially set a June 3 snap presidential election after the removal of impeached leader Yoon Suk-yeol last week.
A power vacuum at the top of the government has hampered Seoul’s efforts to negotiate with U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration at a time when U.S. tariffs are escalating and growth in Asia’s fourth-largest economy is slowing.
Yoon was ousted on Friday for briefly declaring martial law in December, plunging the key U.S. ally into a crisis and setting up a new election that could reshape its foreign and domestic policies.
“The government intends to set June 3 as the 21st presidential election date,” acting President Han Duk-soo said at a cabinet meeting, citing factors such as the time political parties need to prepare for the event.
Yoon’s Labor Minister Kim Moon-soo is among a handful of candidates who plan to run, saying he will resign from his post on Tuesday and launch his own campaign.
Although not currently officially a member of Yoon’s People’s Power Party, Kim is polling better than other conservative contenders.
“I submitted my resignation and decided to run because the people want it, because the people I know want it, and because I feel a responsibility to solve national difficulties,” Kim told reporters.
He said economic conditions were hurting people’s livelihoods amid a “severe national crisis.”
“I thought all politicians and the people should unite to overcome the crisis and work together to help the country develop further,” Kim said.
Ahn Cheol-soo, a PPP lawmaker who first voted for Yoon’s impeachment, also announced his intention to run on Tuesday, saying he was “a cleaner candidate than anyone else.”
He also pledged to secure new economic growth engines, including artificial intelligence, against Trump’s trade policies.
Ahn has fought the past three presidential elections, winning more than 21% of the popular vote in 2017, but has outspent other candidates in the other two. He does not have enough support to be included in recent polls.
Kim and Ahn will join a wide-open field of conservative candidates seeking to win their party’s second impeachment in as many terms.
Conservative Park Geun-hye was impeached, removed from office, and imprisoned in 2017 over a corruption scandal.
Lee Jae-myung, the popular leader of the Liberal Democratic Party, who narrowly lost to Yoon in 2022, is the clear front-runner, but he faces legal challenges of his own.
This includes multiple trials for charges including election law violations and bribery.
However, he is expected to step down as leader of the pro-democracy Democratic Party as soon as this week and announce his candidacy.
A Gallup poll released Friday showed 34% of respondents supported Lee as the next leader, 9% supported Kim, 5% chose former PPP leader Han Dong-hoon, 4% chose Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo, and 2% voted for Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon.
Yoon was removed by the Constitutional Court on December 3 for violating his official duties by issuing a martial law order and mobilizing troops to suspend parliamentary proceedings.
The law requires a new presidential election to be held within 60 days if the position becomes vacant.
Yoon still faces criminal sedition charges, and his trial is scheduled to begin on April 14.
South Korea has been in political turmoil for months since Yoon stunned the country by declaring martial law, and the parliament impeached him and acting leader Han.
Han’s impeachment was later overturned by the Constitutional Court, and he will remain as acting president until an election.
