South Korea sets presidential election for June 3

South Korea will hold a presidential election on June 3, the country’s acting president says, after Yoon Suk Yeol was removed from office over a disastrous declaration of martial law.

South Korean acting President Han Duck-soo speaks during a briefing at the Government Complex in Seoul in March. South Korea will hold a presidential election on June 3, he says. Picture: Ahn Young-joon / pool / AFP

South Korea will hold a presidential election on June 3, the country’s acting president said on Tuesday, after Seoul’s former leader Yoon Suk Yeol was removed from office over a disastrous declaration of martial law.

South Korea has been effectively leaderless since December, when former president Yoon attempted to subvert civilian rule but was quickly impeached by lawmakers and suspended from office.

A court last week upheld his impeachment, stripping him of the top job, and triggering fresh elections, which must be held within 60 days.

The government had held “discussions with the National Election Commission and other related agencies”, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said on Tuesday.

It also took into account “the need to ensure smooth election operations and allow sufficient time for political parties to prepare’’, he said.

As a result they have decided “to set June 3 as the date for South Korea’s 21st presidential election”, he said, adding that the day would be designated as a temporary public holiday to facilitate voting.

South Korea's impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol attends a hearing of his impeachment trial at the Constitutional Court in Seoul in February. Picture: pool/AP

Han called upon ministries and the National Election Commission to “make thorough preparations to ensure an election that is fairer and more transparent than ever, and one that can earn the trust of the people.”

Unlike a regular poll, where a president-elect has a two-month transition period, the winner of the June 3 election will be inaugurated the following day.

For the time being, Prime Minister Han is running the government as the acting president, a job he resumed recently after the Constitutional Court threw out his own impeachment.

Presidential elections are typically held on Wednesdays, but no specific weekday is required for snap polls triggered by a vacancy.

The official campaign period will run from May 12 until June 2.

Opposition leader Lee Jae-myung is the frontrunner in any polls, with a 34 per cent support rating according to the latest Gallup poll.

His party already controls the National Assembly.

South Korea's main opposition Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung, centre, and party members during an anti-Yoon rally in March. Picture: AP

He narrowly lost to Yoon in the 2022 presidential election but staged a political comeback as leader of the main opposition, despite a career shadowed by legal troubles, including ongoing trials.

In distinct second place is Labour Minister Kim Moon-soo.

Polling around 9 per cent, he leads a pack of challengers from Yoon’s People Power Party, which also includes former party chief Han Dong-hoon.

Millions of Koreans watched the Constitutional Court hand down its verdict live on television last Friday, stripping Yoon of office.

Yoon sent armed soldiers to parliament in a bid to prevent lawmakers from voting down his decree, which the court said amounted to deploying troops for “political purposes”.

South Korea has spent the four months since the martial law declaration without an effective head of state.

The leadership vacuum came during a series of crises and headwinds, including an aviation disaster and the deadliest wildfires in the country’s history.

Last week, South Korea was slammed with 25 per cent tariffs on exports to key ally the United States after President Donald Trump unveiled global, so-called reciprocal levies.

Yoon also faces a separate criminal trial on charges of insurrection over the martial law bid.

AFP