South Korean Presidential Election Substitute Yoon Suk-yeol Held June, Presidential Candidate Registration Limit May 11

The 2022 South Korean presidential election. (Wikimedia Commons/Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism Korean Culture and Information Service Korea/Jeon Han)

JAKARTA - South Korea will hold a presidential election to replace Yoon Suk-yeol which was impeached in June, while the presidential candidate registration opens until next month.

The announcement was made by Acting President Han Duck-soo after a cabinet meeting, four days after the Constitutional Court unanimously dismissed Yoon from office, which law says must be followed by a general election within 60 days, with the next president taking office for a full 5 years, quoted from the Associated Press April 8.

"The government intends to set June 3 as the day of the 21st presidential election," Han Duck-soo said on Tuesday.

The impeachment was carried out by the Constitutional Court following Yoon's implementation of a military emergency in December, with the Ginseng State Constitution requiring elections to be held within 60 days after the vacancy of the presidency.

The National General Elections Commission began the initial registration of presidential candidates (Capres) as soon as the Constitutional Court sacked Yoon on Friday.

Candidates will be asked to register no later than May 11 and the official campaign period will begin on May 12, reported by The Korea Times.

The law also requires an civil servant running for president to resign at least 30 days before the election, so May 4 is the deadline.

Later, the new president will hold the position as soon as the election without a transition team.

Deep political polarization is likely to form the general election into a two-way battle between Yoon's People's Power Party and its main liberal competitor, the Democratic Party, which holds a majority in the National Assembly.

The focus of attention is on whether conservatives can reunite and put forward strong candidates to compete with Democratic Party candidate Lee Jae-myung, who observers say is the leading candidate.

South Korea's political parties are expected to launch a preliminary election to elect their presidential candidates in the coming weeks.

Democratic candidate is thought to be Lee, a strong party leader who does not face major challengers within the party.

Lee, who narrowly lost in the 2022 general election to Yoon, led the party through a crisis in which many of its members faced forces sent by Yoon to surround the National Assembly building, reject martial law, and then impeach Yoon.

Around 10 politicians from the People's Power Party are expected to run.

"The South Korean conservative party faces significant losses ahead of the upcoming general election. Two months is a short time to unify bases, moderates, and suburban groups driven by conspiracies around one candidate," explained Leif-Eric Easley, professor of Ewha University in Seoul.

The party leadership is currently filled with Yoon loyalists, and it is likely to allow internal divisions to continue and undermine its electoral prospects, said Choi Jin, director of Seoul-centric Presidential Leadership Institute.

Among the leading presidential candidates for the People's Power Party, Minister of Manpower Kim Moon Soo is considered the most pro-Yoon. Another strong candidate is Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, who has maintained an ambiguous position.

Choi said Yoon would likely use his influence to increase pro-Yoon figures seeking nominations and party leadership positions, so they could defend him when he faces a criminal trial.

Yoon was charged with insurgency in January, and he could face other charges such as abuse of power now after losing the president's immunity, protecting him from most criminal charges.

The People's Power Party "needs to nominate someone who can win the hearts of the public, especially moderates, rather than someone who can win the party's preliminary election," said Duyeon Kim, a senior analyst at the Center for a New American Security in Washington.

"The moderate Korean and young generation in their 20s and 30s are likely to become uncertain voters," he said.