US EditionSouth Korean conservative party moves to switch presidential candidates as election turmoil deepens
- On May 10, 2025, South Korea's People Power Party overturned its primary results by removing Kim Moon Soo as their presidential candidate and instead nominating ex-Prime Minister Han Duck-soo ahead of the June 3 by-election.
- The decision followed internal pressure from Yoon loyalists after former President Yoon Suk Yeol was ousted over his December martial law attempt, leading to party turmoil and failed talks between Kim and Han to unify their bids.
- Kim, a staunch conservative and ex-labor minister, won 56.3% of primary votes on May 3 but denounced the change as an "overnight political coup" and vowed legal challenges, while Han, aged 75, cited his career qualifying him amid geopolitical uncertainty and trade challenges.
- Recent polls show Democratic frontrunner Lee Jae-myung leading Han 44% to 34% and Kim 43% to 29%, with Lee criticized as a populist who may deepen divisions but also seen as capable of addressing inequality and corruption.
- The PPP's leadership awaits party committee approval of Han's nomination by Sunday to meet registration deadlines, while the decision highlights deepening party disarray and uncertain prospects against Lee in the June election.
91 Articles
91 Articles
South Korea's Conservatives Move To Switch Presidential Candidates
South Korea's conservatives dropped their presidential candidate on Saturday and reopened the nomination process, after the former prime minister decided to join the party to challenge the liberal frontrunner in an election just four weeks away.
PPP's midnight coup leaves South Korea’s democracy on the brink
Around 1 a.m. on Saturday, May 10, 2025, South Korea’s main conservative party, the People Power Party (PPP), executed what amounts to a quiet procedural coup. In the dead of night, three official notices appeared in rapid succession on the party’s bulletin board – each one more consequential than the last. The first, titled “Announcement […] The post PPP’s midnight coup leaves South Korea’s democracy on the brink appeared first on Asia Times.
South Korea’s ruling party makes last-minute candidate switch, drops Kim Moon-soo for ex-PM Han Duck-soo
SEOUL, May 10 — South Korea’s conservative party dropped its presidential candidate against his will today, beginning a process to instead nominate outsider and former prime minister Han Duck-soo less than a month before the election. The June 3 presidential poll will decide who replaces Yoon Suk Yeol, who was removed from office over his declaration of martial law in December, sending South Korea into a period of prolonged political turmoil. Yo…
South Korea’s Conservatives Move to Switch Presidential Candidates
SEOUL (Reuters) — South Korea's conservatives dropped their presidential candidate on Saturday and reopened the nomination process, as the former prime minister joined the party to challenge the liberal frontrunner in an election just four weeks away.
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