Who is S. Korea’s new acting President Lee Ju-ho?

Education Minister and Deputy Prime Minister for Social Affairs Lee Ju-ho has assumed the role of acing president, following the successive resignations of former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo and Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok. Lee will serve in the role until the presidential election scheduled for June 3. With his predecessors in the presidential line of succession stepping down one after another, the education policy expert, as the fourth-ranking official in the presidential line of succession

May 2, 2025

Ex-PM Han declares presidential bid

Former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo declared his bid for president Friday, vowing to amend the Constitution to shorten the presidential term and use his economic expertise to tackle the crisis in trade. Han's announcement at the National Assembly came one month before voters head to the polls on June 3 to pick a successor to impeached former President Yoon Suk Yeol. Even before entering the race, Han was a favorite among conservatives to challenge current front-runner Lee Jae-myung, the president

May 2, 2025

Acting president calls for watertight readiness against N. Korea's possible provocations

Acting President Lee Ju-ho on Friday called for maintaining a watertight readiness posture against North Korea's possible provocations, as he assumed the interim leadership following the resignations of the prime minister and finance minister. Lee made the remarks as he presided over a National Security Council meeting, a day after former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo and former Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok resigned. Lee said there should be "no lapse" in the fields of diplomacy, security, defen

May 2, 2025

Acting President Lee calls for 'highest-level' defense posture, vows all support for 'orderly, fair' election

South Korea's new acting President Lee Ju-ho on Friday instructed the military to raise its readiness posture to the "highest level," and called for thorough preparations to ensure the June 3 presidential election will proceed in an "orderly" and "fair" manner. Lee, the deputy prime minister for social affairs and education minister, gave the instructions in an emergency directive to all government ministries and agencies, and public servants after he took the role of the acting president follow

May 2, 2025

Acting President Lee pledges to ensure stable state affairs

Acting President Lee Ju-ho said Friday he will make utmost efforts to stabilize government affairs and ensure the fair management of the June 3 presidential election. Speaking to reporters as he arrived at the government complex in Seoul, Lee said, "I feel a great sense of responsibility to be entrusted with such a heavy duty. "I will do my utmost to ensure stable state governance by closely communicating with the National Assembly and thoroughly discussing matters with Cabinet members," he said

May 2, 2025

Education minister becomes third acting president of S. Korea in five months

Lee Ju-ho, the deputy prime minister and education minister, is taking over as acting president of South Korea from Friday after Choi Sang-mok, the second in line for acting president, resigned following threats of impeachment. Choi said he would be stepping down late Thursday after the Democratic Party of Korea, which controls the National Assembly's majority, unilaterally tabled the resolution to impeach him. His resignation offer was approved by former acting President Han Duck-soo shortly af

May 2, 2025

Korean politics in disarray as Choi Sang-mok, who was to become acting president, resigns amid impeachment vote

South Korea was thrown into political disarray Thursday, as the Democratic Party of Korea moved to impeach Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok in a move widely perceived as retaliation over the Supreme Court's ruling against its presidential candidate. Choi, who doubles as deputy prime minister and was to replace outgoing Prime Minister Han Duck-soo as acting president Friday, stepped down before a vote could be concluded. Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister Lee Ju-ho is expected to take ove

May 1, 2025

[Breaking] Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok resigns after Assembly moves to impeach him

Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok offered his resignation on Thursday, shortly after an impeachment motion against him was introduced at a plenary session of the National Assembly. According to the Ministry of Economy and Finance, Choi tendered his resignation at 10:28 p.m. Acting President and Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, who earlier in the day offered his resignation in an apparent presidential bid, accepted Choi's resignation. Choi was set to assume the role of acting president starting Friday.

May 1, 2025

National Assembly passes W13.8tr extra budget

The National Assembly on Thursday passed a 13.8 trillion-won ($9.6 billion) extra budget aimed at helping disaster response efforts and revitalizing the economy. The bill was approved in a plenary session after the Democratic Party and the People Power Party added 1.6 trillion won to the 12.2 trillion won proposed by the government. The extra budget allocates 400 billion won for the issuance of local currency vouchers, which is far less than the 1 trillion won initially pushed by the DP, to help

May 1, 2025

Impeachment motion against prosecutor general presented to plenary session

An impeachment motion against Prosecutor General Shim Woo-jung was reported Thursday to the plenary session of the National Assembly led by the Democratic Party (DP) over his alleged role in former President Yoon Suk Yeol's failed martial law bid. The decision came hours after the Supreme Court decided to strike down a lower court's acquittal of DP presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung on charges of election law violation. The DP accused Shim of colluding with Yoon in the "unconstitutional and il

May 1, 2025

S. Korean foreign ministry notifies foreign missions of new acting President Choi Sang-mok

South Korea's foreign ministry notified foreign missions in Seoul of a change in the acting presidency following the resignation of acting President Han Duck-soo, government officials said Thursday. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent a letter to diplomatic missions in South Korea, stating that Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Choi Sang-mok will assume the role of acting president starting at midnight Thursday, according to the officials. The letter also emphasize

May 1, 2025

Top court ruling reignites controversy over Lee Jae-myung's candidacy

Controversy over whether Rep. Lee Jae-myung, the liberal Democratic Party of Korea's presidential nominee, is eligible to run for president resurfaced Thursday, following a 10-2 ruling by the Supreme Court that found Lee guilty of making false claims in his previous run for president in 2022. Thursday's ruling, which remanded Lee's case to the Seoul High Court, found him guilty, but it does not immediately strip Lee of his right to be elected president, because the Supreme Court's decision did n

May 1, 2025

People Power Party kicks off final round of its presidential primary

The conservative People Power Party began voting Thursday to determine its final presidential candidate for the June 3 election, with former Labor Minister Kim Moon-soo and former party Chair Han Dong-hoon competing in the final round of the party primary. Voting will be conducted over two days, Thursday and Friday, and the final nominee will be decided through a 50-50 weighting of party member ballots and public opinion polls. The winner will be announced during the party’s convention on Saturd

May 1, 2025

Major parties reach compromise over W13.8tr extra budget bill

South Korea's parliament was set to pass a 13.8 trillion won ($9.7 billion) extra budget bill at its plenary session Thursday, to aid recovery in regions affected by March's massive wildfires and address uncertainties posed by US tariff threats. It would be the first supplementary budget greenlighted by the parliament for this year, after the annual budget was confirmed to be 673.3 trillion won in December. The plenary session was scheduled for 8 p.m. Thursday. This follows a bipartisan compromi

May 1, 2025

Han Duck-soo resigns ‘to take on bigger responsibility’

Acting President and Prime Minister Han Duck-soo resigned Thursday citing his need “to take on bigger responsibility,” amid expectations that he would soon announce his intention to run in the presidential election on June 3. “Respected citizens, I stand here to deliver my decision on an issue that I’ve been deeply deliberating. I have decided to step down from my roles as acting president and prime minister,” Han said in a televised public speech aired in the afternoon. Though Han did not direc

May 1, 2025