SEOUL, South Korea — Acting South Korean President Han Duck-soo announced his resignation Thursday amid speculation that he would enter the race for the snap presidential election next month. Meanwhile, the leading opposition candidate sustained a legal setback that could bar him from the balloting.
The twin shocks jolted what had been a dull campaign and presented a bewildering range of electoral possibilities.
Mr. Han, who is also South Korea’s prime minister, took on the presidency this year after the impeachment and ouster of President Yoon Suk Yeol, who is on trial for insurrection over his declaration of martial law in December.
Mr. Han resigned amid anticipation that he would declare his candidacy for the June 3 presidential election on Friday or Saturday. Deputy Prime Minister Choi Sang-mok, who is also the finance minister, will serve as acting president until June 4.
Meanwhile, the surging opposition campaign of Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate for the liberal Democratic Party of Korea, suddenly faces uncertainty. The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that Mr. Lee lied during the 2022 presidential campaign in violation of election laws.
The high court sent Mr. Lee’s case back for retrial in the Seoul High Court, which acquitted him in March. It is unclear how fast the court can move on his retrial.
If Mr. Lee is acquitted again, his campaign will continue. A guilty verdict, however, would levy a fine of more than $700 and make him ineligible to run for political office for five years, leaving the DPK without a candidate.
If Mr. Lee wins on June 3 before a judgment, which some pro-Lee media predict, his case will become moot because of presidential immunity.
Mr. Lee, 61, won the DPK presidential primary by a historic landslide (88.97%) on April 27 and has been leading in all polls by a country mile. The latest, joint-produced by four agencies, found him with 42% approval ratings. Mr. Han was in a distant second place, with 13%.
As the nation’s conservative leader, Mr. Han, 75, is considered the best bet to defeat Mr. Lee.
However, the ruling People Power Party is set to conclude its two-member primary on Saturday, and Mr. Han is neither a member of the party nor a PPP candidate.
Though Mr. Han trails Mr. Lee in polls, he is ahead of the PPP’s two primary candidates.
Mr. Han has been an independent, appointed technocrat in his long political career.
Backdoor politicking is expected in the days ahead as anti-Lee forces seek a “unified candidate” under a “big tent,” said Yang Sun-mook, an adviser to a newly established group to support Mr. Han.
Mr. Yang has correctly predicted Mr. Han’s maneuvers in recent days.
Though the situation has no direct precedent, Mr. Yang said a unified candidacy has happened twice in Korean political history.
It is unclear how Mr. Han might sync with the winner of the PPP primary Saturday, but cooperation seems essential to defeating Mr. Lee.
In the Thursday poll, former PPP leader Han Dong-hoon, 52, who represents the party’s young, centrist wing and turned against Mr. Yoon after he declared martial law, had a 9% favorability rating. Former provincial Gov. Kim Moon-soo, on the party’s right wing, had 6%.
Even if the two PPP candidates combine with Han Duck-soo, their total numbers reach 28%, far short of Mr. Lee’s 42%.
The May Day poll found 18% of voters undecided.
In April 18-30 polling, Mr. Han’s entry in the race was merely rumored. Now that his political ambitions are clear, he could win over some undecided voters.
It is widely thought that if Mr. Kim wins the PPP’s primary, he will step aside to make way for Han Duck-soo. But Han Dong-hoon, who is unrelated to the resigned acting president, may resist that step if he wins.
Mr. Yang said the PPP candidate may respond to public pressure from across South Korea’s right wing.
“People expect a unified candidate to take down Lee Jae-myung,” he said. “A unified candidacy could come through approval rating comparisons over the next 10 days: May 11 is the final date for presidential candidates to register.”
Mr. Yang expects Han Duck-soo to deliver a speech laying out his position on Friday.
An election showdown between Mr. Lee and Han Duck-soo would be a clash of opposites.
Mr. Lee comes from poverty and fought through politics the hard way: rough-and-tumble city mayorships and provincial governorships. He has proved bulletproof against all forms of lawfare for years, handily beating charges accusing him of illegally sending funds to North Korea and corrupt practices as a local politician. The lies he allegedly told during the 2022 campaign relate to corruption allegations in his past role as mayor of a satellite city of Seoul.
A tough leftist and polarizing figure, Mr. Lee has sought in recent months to occupy central ground, walking back his pro-China and anti-Japan stances.
Conversely, Mr. Han is an elite technocrat — a trade expert and former ambassador to the U.S. with decades of ministerial-level experience in administrations of both parties.
He generates less passion than Mr. Lee, but in a country deeply divided by Mr. Yoon’s martial law decree, Mr. Han’s persona as a safe pair of hands may win votes.
There is no love lost.
Mr. Han took over as acting president after Mr. Yoon stepped down. Subsequently, the opposition impeached Mr. Han in a fight over constitutional court judge appointments. Mr. Han returned as acting president via a legal judgment.
That signaled that Mr. Lee’s DPK, which had led the impeachments of 27 officials, in addition to Mr. Yoon and Mr. Han, had overstepped.
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