Tag: politics

If the conservatives want any chance at beating Lee they need to rally around Han Duck-soo and soon:

Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate of South Korea’s main liberal Democratic Party, holds a lead in a potential three-way race for the country’s next election, but support for the conservative bloc shows signs of resurgence, shows a new poll released Monday.

The poll, conducted by Realmeter from April 30 to May 2, found Lee leading with 46.5 percent support in a hypothetical matchup against former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, who is running as an independent, and Lee Jun-seok of the centrist Reform Party.

Han garnered 34.3 percent of support, and Lee Jun-seok trailed with 5.9 percent.

In a separate scenario replacing Han with Kim Moon-soo, the candidate of the main conservative People Power Party, Lee still led the field with 46.6 percent, with Kim at 27.8 and Lee Jun-seok at 7.5 percent.

Han and Kim are expected to begin negotiations soon to merge their candidacies in a bid to challenge the liberal frontrunner.

Korea Herald

You can read more at the link.

Han Duck-soo is actually from the Honam area and was paying his respects to the dead from the 1980 Gwangju Uprising Incident when he was assaulted by protesters:

Former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo visited a national cemetery honoring victims of a 1980 pro-democracy uprising Friday as the first stop of his election campaign for the June election but was met with protests. 

Han traveled to the May 18th National Cemetery in Gwangju, 357 kilometers south of Seoul, hours after formally announcing his bid for the June 3 election. Upon arrival, he was confronted by demonstrators expressing opposition to his presence.

On Thursday, Han resigned from his roles as acting president and prime minister, positions he had held following President Yoon Suk Yeol’s brief imposition of martial law in December.

As Han attempted to enter the cemetery, a participant in the rally struck him on the head with a protest placard, prompting immediate intervention by security personnel. Han reportedly did not sustain serious injuries.

Facing strong opposition and a standoff that lasted approximately 20 minutes, Han ultimately paid his respects with a silent tribute at the cemetery’s entrance before leaving the site.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but the fact the Korean left sent protesters after Han like this makes me think they are concerned he is a real threat to Lee Jae-myung winning the upcoming Presidential election.

Here is the latest on leading Korean Presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung’s legal problems:

An appellate court will hold the first hearing of a retrial in an election law violation case involving Democratic Party (DP) presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung on May 15, just weeks before the June election. 

The Seoul High Court set the date just one day after the Supreme Court struck down the lower court’s acquittal of Lee on charges of election law violation in March and remanded the case for a retrial. 

Yonhap

It appears regardless of what happens Lee will be able to run for President. What is not clear is if the trial can continue while he is President and what happens if he is convicted:

The appeals court said it has requested a court official to directly deliver a summons to Lee to attend the hearing.

If Lee does not appear at the hearing, the court would need to reschedule the trial, making it unlikely that a verdict will be delivered before June 3.

Even if Lee is sentenced before the election, he would likely appeal it, which would enable him to run in the race. 

There is currently no clear rule on whether a criminal trial in progress may continue if the indicted individual is later elected president.

Earlier in the day, the DP proposed a bill that suspends an ongoing criminal trial for a president-elect, which is seen as a move to mitigate legal risks surrounding Lee.

You can read more at the link.

If Han Duck-soo wins the Presidency what a journey he would have had. He served as the Prime Minister for both liberal and conservative governments. He then became acting President when Yoon Suk-yeol was impeached to just get impeached himself. He was then reinstated by the Constitutional Court as acting President and now he is resigning to run for President:

Acting President Han Duck-soo resigned Thursday, indicating he would run for the June 3 presidential election.

Han announced his decision in an address to the nation, ending weeks of speculation over whether he would enter the election triggered by the impeachment of his former boss — former President Yoon Suk Yeol.

“Thinking of the weight of the responsibility I carry at this grave time, after thinking long and carefully about whether such a decision is in fact right and inevitable, I decided that if this is the only way, I must take it,” he said from the government complex in Seoul.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but I doubt it is a coincidence he is running for President now after the decison by the Supreme Court to nullify the election law violation aquital of Lee Jae-myung.

Out of all the shady things that Lee Jae-myung is under investigation for lying to the media could be what brings him down:

The Supreme Court on Thursday struck down a lower court’s acquittal of Democratic Party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung on charges of election law violation, sending the case back to the appeals court.

In a televised decision, the top court overturned the Seoul High Court’s verdict in March, which acquitted Lee of lying as a presidential candidate during the 2022 election campaign.

The Supreme Court’s ruling came about a month before the country will hold the June 3 presidential election. The case has drawn intense attention due to the possibility that the top court’s decision could affect his eligibility to run for office.

Yonhap

What is interesting about the verdict is that it was an overwhelming decision. 10 of the 12 justices agreed that the appeals court was wrong to overturn the conviction. You would think a Supreme Court ruling would reimpose the verdict that the appeals court nullified. However, according to the Korea Times his case has to be retried:

The Supreme Court on Thursday overturned an appellate court’s decision to acquit Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung of his election law violation charges, sending the case back to the high court for a retrial.

The ruling does not immediately disqualify Lee as a candidate in the upcoming June 3 presidential election, as the retrial verdict is unlikely to be reached before Election Day. However, the Supreme Court’s ruling — which found that the appellate court misinterpreted parts of the law, effectively implying Lee’s guilt on some charges — is expected to reignite political debate over his suitability as a candidate, with less than five weeks remaining before the election.

Under the relevant law, anyone fined 1 million won ($699.30) or more for violating the nation’s election law is barred from running for public office for the next five years or up to 10 years if sentenced to imprisonment.

The case centers on two controversial remarks made by Lee during his previous presidential campaign in 2021. Prosecutors charged him with violating the Public Official Election Act for allegedly making false statements regarding land development projects in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, which took place while he was mayor of the city.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link, but it is going to be interesting to see how this ruling impacts Korea Presidential election which Lee is the current favorite to win.

Not that there was ever any doubt, but Lee Mae-myung is the official Democratic Party candidate now for the Korean Presidential election scheduled for June 3rd:

Former Democratic Party (DP) leader Lee Jae-myung, who has made economic recovery and talks with North Korea his top priority, won the party’s presidential nomination Sunday and solidified his stance as front-runner for the June 3 presidential election.

Lee, a human rights lawyer-turned-politician, won 89.77 percent of all votes cast in the party’s primary, becoming the party’s formal presidential candidate for the second time, after former President Yoon Suk Yeol was removed from office over his failed martial law bid. 

This marks the highest figure ever recorded in a presidential primary among DP-affiliated candidates since South Korea achieved its full-fledged democracy in 1987.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

I can understand why the police are getting turned around, this would be like the Washington, DC police showing up at the White House and asking the Secret Service to hand over SIPR phones and computers. It is not going happen without a proper security review to release those materials due to classified information on those machines that have nothing to do with the investigation:

A special police investigation team withdraws from its attempt to raid the presidential office in Seoul’s Yongsan district on April 16, 2025, over allegations that former President Yoon Suk Yeol obstructed the execution of a detention warrant early this year.

Police failed to raid the presidential office Wednesday over allegations surrounding former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s short-lived martial law bid after a 10-hour standoff with presidential security officials.

The police’s special investigation team presented a warrant to search the presidential office’s secure phone server, and the Presidential Security Service (PSS) office and residence, all in the central Seoul district of Yongsan, earlier in the day, according to officials. 

But security officials blocked their entry, and the presidential office later submitted a statement of disapproval, prompting investigators to leave the scene.

The police said the PSS had instead agreed to voluntarily provide certain materials, including data from the classified phone server.

Police have repeatedly attempted to seize the server records of a secure phone used by Yoon related to his Dec. 3 martial law imposition but have been largely unsuccessful.

By law, military facilities and other areas that handle confidential information cannot be searched or seized without approval from the responsible authority or office.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

As expected it looks like Lee Jae-myung is going to win the Korean presidency in a landslide because of his name recognition, the PPP being tarnished by Yoon’s impeachment, and the fact the PPP is fractured and cannot rally around a single candidate:

This undated composite photo shows Lee Jae-myung (L), former leader of the Democratic Party, and former Labor Minister Kim Moon-soo. (Yonhap)

A former leader of the Democratic Party (DP), Rep. Lee Jae-myung, is leading the race for the presidency of South Korea with nearly 49 percent support, a poll showed Monday. 

South Korea will hold a presidential election on June 3 as the Constitutional Court removed former President Yoon Suk Yeol from office over his failed martial law bid. 

According to the survey conducted by Realmeter on 1,506 adults aged over 18 from Wednesday to Friday, Lee topped the list with 48.8 percent.

Former Labor Minister Kim Moon-soo, who joined the conservative People Power Party (PPP) and declared his bid last week, came next with 10.9 percent, down 5.4 percentage points from the previous week.

Acting President Han Duck-soo made his first appearance in the survey with 8.6 percent, though he has not officially announced his presidential run. 

Former PPP leader Han Dong-hoon received 6.2 percent, and Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo garnered 5.2 percent, followed by Lee Jun-seok, a lawmaker of the minor opposition New Reform Party, at 3 percent. Support for other potential candidates was below 3 percent.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Impeached President Yoon continues the tradition of if you are a conservative President in South Korea you will be prosecuted afterwards and likely jailed:

Disgraced former President Yoon Suk Yeol is set to stand trial Monday on charges of orchestrating an insurrection through his declaration of martial law on Dec. 3, 2024, marking his first formal court appearance since being removed from office by the Constitutional Court early this month.

The first hearing, at which Yoon is required to appear, is to take place at the Seoul Central District Court and has drawn criticism for shielding the ousted leader from public view — a departure from the manner in which former presidents were tried in criminal court. (…….)

With his appearance at the Seoul Central District Court’s pretrial hearing of his criminal trial in February, Yoon became the first sitting president to go on trial for criminal charges.

But Yoon is far from the first former president to stand trial, as prior to Yoon, Chun Doo-hwan, Roh Tae-woo, Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye all faced criminal charges after their respective presidencies.

According to the Criminal Act, those convicted of leading an insurrection can face either the death penalty or life imprisonment.

Korea Herald

You can read more at the link.