South Korea opposition leader Lee signals presidential run as race starts
4/9/2025 9:28:00 AM
South Korea's main opposition party head Lee Jae-myung said on Wednesday he was stepping down as party leader, amid expectations that the current populist front-runner for the presidency in opinion polls would soon declare his run.
South Korea's labour minister, Kim Moon-soo, who has been among ruling People Power Party members indicating an intention to run, also declared his candidacy.
South Korea will hold a snap presidential election on June 3, after former president Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment stemming from a December martial law declaration was upheld.
"I will be now starting new work," Lee, the Democratic Party leader, told a party leadership meeting carried live on his YouTube channel. He did not elaborate nor confirm he would be standing for the presidency.
The election kicks off a race to elect a new leader who will be thrust into the challenge of navigating Asia's fourth-largest economy through a global trade war triggered by wide-ranging tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump.
The next leader will also face a bitter partisan feud magnified by the impeachment of Yoon, who cited unrelenting political obstruction by the majority opposition and unproven claims that the 2024 parliamentary election was marred by fraud when he declared martial law.
Lee, 61, lost by the slimmest margin in the country's history when he ran against Yoon in the 2022 presidential election. Last year, he led his liberals to a landslide victory in a parliamentary election.
Unlike the Democratic Party, the People Power Party has a wide open field of declared and potential candidates including the labour minister and also the mayors of Seoul and Incheon, although some have failed to poll more than single-digit percentages.
South Korea's labour minister, Kim Moon-soo, who has been among ruling People Power Party members indicating an intention to run, also declared his candidacy.
South Korea will hold a snap presidential election on June 3, after former president Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment stemming from a December martial law declaration was upheld.
"I will be now starting new work," Lee, the Democratic Party leader, told a party leadership meeting carried live on his YouTube channel. He did not elaborate nor confirm he would be standing for the presidency.
The election kicks off a race to elect a new leader who will be thrust into the challenge of navigating Asia's fourth-largest economy through a global trade war triggered by wide-ranging tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump.
The next leader will also face a bitter partisan feud magnified by the impeachment of Yoon, who cited unrelenting political obstruction by the majority opposition and unproven claims that the 2024 parliamentary election was marred by fraud when he declared martial law.
Lee, 61, lost by the slimmest margin in the country's history when he ran against Yoon in the 2022 presidential election. Last year, he led his liberals to a landslide victory in a parliamentary election.
Unlike the Democratic Party, the People Power Party has a wide open field of declared and potential candidates including the labour minister and also the mayors of Seoul and Incheon, although some have failed to poll more than single-digit percentages.