South Korea’s acting President Lee Ju-ho stated on Friday that he will work to stabilize government operations and ensure the fair management of the upcoming presidential election on June 3, following the resignations of the prime minister and finance minister.
Education Minister Lee took over as the third acting leader of Asia’s fourth-largest economy, thrust into the job of shepherding the country out of a period of political and economic turmoil triggered by a martial law attempt last year by ousted President Yoon Suk Yeol and sweeping US tariffs.
Lee pledged to work closely with the Cabinet and opposition-led parliament which impeached Yoon in December, and to try to stabilise government.
“I believe the government administration operates under a system. I will try my best to ensure government functions are managed stably,” he told reporters.
PM Han Steps Down
Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, who has been serving as acting president, stepped down on Thursday ahead of an expected entry into the presidential race. Han is expected to declare his presidential run on Friday.
Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok was due to assume the position of acting president by law before a snap election is held on June 3 to elect a new leader, but he abruptly quit just before midnight on Thursday.
Choi, who has played a leading role in the response to US tariffs, apologised in a statement for not being able to continue his work while the country faces severe economic conditions at home and abroad.
Candidacy Threatened
Meanwhile, South Korea’s top court cast doubt on Thursday on frontrunner Lee Jae-myung’s eligibility to run for the presidency. The election race was rocked by a Supreme Court ruling that could threaten the candidacy of former opposition party leader Lee Jae-myung, who has dominated all opinion polls.
The court overturned an earlier ruling that had cleared Lee, saying he had violated election law by publicly making “false statements” during his 2022 presidential bid. It sent the case back to the appeals court and ordered it to issue a sentence, which could bar Lee from running for office for up to five years.
Presidential Bid In Doubt
Thursday’s Supreme Court ruling could undermine Lee Jae-myung’s credibility to be on the ballot and further deepen divisions in South Korea after months of political turmoil.
“The defendant’s remarks… were judged to be false statements on matters important enough to ruin voters’ accurate judgement on the defendant’s eligibility for public office,” said Chief Justice Jo Hee-de in the verdict.
While the Supreme Court moved unusually fast to consider Lee’s election law case, it gave no deadline for the appeals court, which usually takes months to revisit rulings. It was unclear if a decision would come before the June 3 election.
Lee Jae-myung, who has denied any wrongdoing, said he had not expected the verdict to play out this way but pledged to follow the will of the people.
Blow To Lee, Democratic Party
Shin Yul, a political science professor at Myongji University, said the ruling was a blow to Lee and the liberal-leaning Democratic Party.
“The appeals court will decide whether to disqualify him to run for office or not, but the Supreme Court in effect found him guilty… Moderate voters, 10% of the total, will be swayed by this news,” he said.
A Gallup Korea survey on April 25 showed that Lee Jae-myung was favourite to win next month’s election with 38%, while former head of the conservative People Power Party (PPP) Han Dong-hoon had 8% and Han Duck-soo was on 6%.
Unusual Speed
Lee Jae-myung is embroiled in several criminal trials, but the election law case has been in the spotlight because if the appeals court finalises a guilty verdict in line with the Supreme Court’s decision, Lee would be barred from contesting elections for at least five years.
The Supreme Court, which can take a year or more to consider a case, made its decision on Thursday only about a month after prosecutors appealed the earlier court’s decision to clear Lee.
The Democratic Party on Thursday criticised the top court’s ruling and a spokesperson told reporters there was no chance of replacing Lee as a candidate.
(With inputs from Reuters)
