| Former lawmaker Kim Doo-kwan announces his candidacy for the presidential election at the Democratic Party's headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul, on Monday. (Yonhap) |
People Power Party forms election body
Liberal and conservative hopefuls began lining up to launch their own bids for the presidency on Monday, three days after former President Yoon Suk Yeol was removed from office in a unanimous Constitutional Court ruling.
The Constitution says a successor to an ousted president must be elected within 60 days of removal, putting the presidential contenders on a tight timeline.
While the Democratic Party of Korea's leader, Rep. Lee Jae-myung, has long enjoyed a sizable lead in polls for preferred picks for president among both liberal and conservative options, some politicians categorized as being part of the "non-Lee faction" of the party have nonetheless announced their intentions to run.
Kim Doo-kwan, a former lawmaker with the Democratic Party who ran against Lee for the party's chair position last year and lost, said Monday he would be entering the presidential contest.
Lee has yet to officially launch a bid, before which he must vacate his seat for the Democratic Party leadership.
Also on Monday, the Democratic Party raised calls for the People Power Party to forgo nominating a candidate.
"If the People Power Party were to own up to its responsibility in producing a president who caused such damage to the country's democracy, the party would not nominate a candidate this coming election," said Rep. Park Chan-dae, the Democratic Party's floor leader.
The People Power Party on Monday appointed its former leader and former Education Minister Hwang Woo-yea as the head of the party's committee for managing the presidential election.
| Hwang Woo-yea, former leader and former education minister, has been appointed head of the People Power Party's committee for managing the presidential election. (Yonhap) |
The announcement came after the conservative party's emergency leadership meeting on Monday, where the decision was approved.
“Chairperson Hwang, a five-term lawmaker representing Incheon in Greater Seoul, has long served our party and most recently held the position of interim leader," said spokesperson Rep. Shin Dong-wook. "Given his deep understanding of internal party affairs, we believe he is the right person to ensure a fair and impartial primary process."
Hong Joon-pyo, another conservative bigwig, said Monday he was stepping down as mayor of Daegu, a major conservative stronghold, to run for president.
Among current lawmakers, Rep. Lee Jun-seok of the minor Reform Party was the first to declare his presidential candidacy, even before the former president was formally ousted. Lee led Yoon's 2022 campaign as the then-chair of the People Power Party.
| Rep. Lee Jun-seok (Yonhap) |
Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo, who headed Yoon's presidential transition team, plans to open his presidential bid on Tuesday.
