From Coup to campaign: South Korea’s presidential race begins

According to Yonhap News Agency, candidates began their election campaigns on Monday, with the presidential election scheduled for June 3, 2025.

Polls indicate that Lee Jae-myung, the candidate of the Democratic Party (DP), is leading other presidential candidates in South Korea.

The report notes that Kim Moon-Soo’s candidacy for the ruling People Power Party (PPP) was only confirmed two days ago after Han Duck-Soo, the former acting president and prime minister, declined the party’s nomination. Kim now trails significantly in second place in the polls.

It is worth recalling that Han Duck-Soo, who stepped down as acting president on May 1, 2025, to participate in the early election, had rejected the PPP’s nomination. At the time, he announced during a press conference that he would run in the June 3 presidential election.

According to a poll published on Sunday, May 11, 2025, Lee Jae-myung, the opposition candidate, leads with 52.1% support, compared to Kim Moon-Soo of the ruling party with 31.1%.

The South Korean Presidential Election Oversight Committee announced that seven candidates have registered for this round of early elections.

Poll results suggest that South Korean voters are poised to end the three-year rule of the People Power Party, which was plunged into a national and global political crisis following the actions of ousted President Yoon Suk Yeol.