SEOUL, May 02 (AJP) - Former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo announced his bid for the presidency on Friday, pledging to push forward a constitutional amendment and step down once the reform is in place.
“I will form a presidential task force on constitutional reform on day one,” the 75-year-old former Prime Minister said during a press conference at the National Assembly. “In my third year, I will hold a new presidential and general election under the revised constitution, and immediately resign from office.”
His announcement comes amid one of the most turbulent transitions in South Korea’s modern political history. President Yoon Suk Yeol was impeached earlier this year after declaring emergency martial law without warning in December last year. The move, which included deploying troops to the National Assembly, triggered a political firestorm and eventually led to his removal from office.
Han, who had been serving as acting president, resigned Thursday to join the race. His expected successor, Deputy Prime Minister Choi Sang-mok, also stepped down after the National Assembly introduced an impeachment motion against him.
That left Education Minister Lee Ju-ho, also Deputy Prime Minister for Social Affairs, as the nation’s acting president starting May 2. The sudden exits of both Han and Choi have created a visible leadership vacuum, prompting questions about cabinet authority and constitutional procedure.
Han said he would work to finalize a reform bill within his first year and complete the amendment in the second. “I won’t dictate the details,” he said. “That’s up to the National Assembly and the people. But I will set the direction: checks and balances, and a shift toward decentralization.”
He also criticized what he called the toxic state of domestic politics. “Politics focused on personal or factional gain, not the nation’s future, has reached a dangerous level,” he said. “We cannot allow reckless infighting to drag this country down.”
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
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