On the 4th, South Korea's Constitutional Court passed the impeachment case against Yoon Seok-youl, making him the second president in South Korean constitutional history to be removed from office after Park Geun-hye. South Korea must hold a new presidential election within 60 days.
According to reports from South Korean media, Acting President and Prime Minister Han Duck-soo spoke with the chair of the National Election Commission, Roh Tae-ak, on the 4th. The two have agreed on “designating June 3rd as the date for the early election.”
According to a Gallup Korea poll released on the 4th, 52% of respondents hope the next government will be led by the opposition party to achieve a change in power, while 37% support the ruling party to continue in power. The support rate for the ruling People Power Party rose by 2 percentage points to 35%, but it is still lower than that of the largest opposition party, the Democratic Party of Korea, which holds a support rate of 41%.
Wang Junsong, a researcher at the Institute of Asia-Pacific and Global Strategy of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, stated that in the short term, the ruling party might experience intense competition internally. There will be a need for competition among several potential candidates, and there is even a possibility of splits within the ruling party, with different factions nominating their own candidates.
Within the opposition party, Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung, who was acquitted in the second trial of the case alleging violations of the Public Official Election Act, has gained greater support both inside and outside the party, currently leading significantly with 34% support, with other opposition political figures posing no substantial competition.
However, the prosecution has appealed the not guilty verdict of Lee Jae-myung's second trial to the Supreme Court.
During the election phase, winning the support of centrist and non-partisan voters will be key to deciding the outcome of the election.