SEOUL (Reuters) -South Korea’s government has approved June 3 as the date for a snap presidential election, following the removal from office of Yoon Suk Yeol last week over his short-lived declaration of martial law.
The cabinet agreed the date on Tuesday after discussions with the National Election Commission since it needed to approve a public holiday for the election.
Yoon was removed by the Constitutional Court for violating his official duty by issuing the martial law decree on December 3 and mobilising troops in an attempt to halt parliamentary proceedings.
The law requires a new presidential election within 60 days if the position becomes vacant.
South Korea has faced months of political turmoil since Yoon stunned the country by declaring martial law, triggering his impeachment by parliament and the impeachment of acting leader Prime Minister Han Duck-soo.
Han’s impeachment was later overturned by the Constitutional Court and he will continue in the role of acting president until the election.
The power vacuum at the top of South Korea’s government has overshadowed Seoul’s efforts to deal with the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump at a time of spiralling U.S. tariffs and slowing growth in Asia’s fourth-largest economy.
Lee Jae-myung, the populist leader of the liberal Democratic Party who had lost to Yoon by a razor-thin margin in 2022, is a clear front-runner but faces legal challenges of his own under multiple trials for charges including violating the election law and bribery.
The conservatives have a wide-open field of candidates.
According to a Gallup poll published on April 4, 34% of respondents supported Lee as the next leader, 9% backed conservative Labour Minister Kim Moon-soo, 5% former ruling party leader Han Dong-hoon, 4% Daegu mayor Hong Joon-pyo, and 2% Seoul mayor Oh Se-hoon.
(Reporting by Joyce Lee; Editing by Ed Davies)
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