Seoul [South Korea], April 9: South Koreans will vote for their next president on June 3, the government decided, following the removal from office of Yoon Suk Yeol after the country's Constitutional Court upheld his impeachment, news agency Yonhap reported on Tuesday.
The presidential elections were required to take place within 60 days of the presidential seat becoming vacant. Prime Minister Han Duck Soo will continue acting as president until then.
The new president will take office immediately after the June election, Yonhap reported.
On December 3, Yoon declared martial law during a budget dispute with the opposition, plunging the country into crisis and leading to his impeachment by parliament.
Yoon justified his measure by accusing the opposition of acting against the state and being infiltrated by communists, though no evidence has been provided to support these claims.
In an unanimous ruling, the Constitutional Court on Friday said that Yoon's imposition of martial law was not justified by a national crisis. Likewise, Yoon violated the law when he sent soldiers to the National Assembly to prevent a lifting of martial law.
According to recent polls, opposition leader Lee Jae Myung is the early favourite to become the next president. He narrowly lost to Yoon in the 2022 presidential election. For Yoon, the legal battles are not over, despite the latest verdict. He is expected to stand trial on insurrection charges over his imposition of martial law. If convicted, he could face a lengthy prison sentence.
Lee Jae-myung of the Democratic Party is considered the overwhelming favourite in the upcoming election, though he is facing several trials on corruption and other charges.
Han will continue to lead South Korea until the election, which will cap months of political turmoil at a delicate time for the country's export-reliant economy.
United States President Donald Trump last week announced a 25 percent tariff on South Korean imports as part of his "liberation day" trade measures targeting almost all US trading partners.
While Trump exempted a handful of sectors from the tariffs, including semiconductors - a major export of South Korean tech giants Samsung and SK hynix, the country's auto industry is grappling with a separate 25 percent tariff that went into effect last week.
Source: Qatar Tribune
