South Korea’s acting leader Han Duck-soo is set to resign on Thursday in order to be eligible to run for the presidential election scheduled on June 3 to become the country’s permanent president, Reuters reported quoting Yonhap news agency.
The report, quoting government and former ruling party sources, states that Han would address the country on Thursday afternoon and formally announce his resignation from the acting presidency on Friday for the election on June 3.
Han is being projected as the favourite among the conservatives to defeat liberal Democratic Party’s presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung. After Han announces his resignation, Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok could fill in as the acting president until an election takes place, as required by the Constitution.
The snap election in South Korea is taking place after former President Yoon Suk Yeol was impeached and then removed from office over his decision to impose a short-lived martial law in the country.
Acting President Han is looking to contest the upcoming election in South Korea to leverage his higher profile and since he is a public representative, he faces a May 4 deadline to resign in order to run for election.
Reports had claimed that Han, 75, would contest the June election as the opinion polls have projected an increase in support for the experienced leader who has also been dealing with US President Donald Trump’s reciprocal tariffs other than the political instability in the country.
Former President Yoon had imposed martial law in December but it could stand only for a few hours before it was struck down by the country’s parliament in a historic session. A Constitutional court in South Korea then removed Yoon from the office, making way for the snap election in June.
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