[Politics & Diplomacy] Presidential race heats up: DP leader resigns to run for president, former Labor Minister joins race

For the presidential election on June 3rd, politicians are speeding up their moves to join the race.

To take a closer look at how the rival parties are preparing and what’s ahead, let’s turn to our political correspondent Shin Ha-young.

Ha-young, the Democratic Party leader resigned from the chairmanship of the party today. What does this mean?

You’re right. Today, Democratic Party Chairman Lee Jae-myung, widely seen as the likely DP candidate, stepped down from his position, hinting at his presidential bid.

This comes as the political scene quickly shifted into early election mode, following former President Yoon’s removal from office.

Lee, who lost to former President Yoon by a margin of zero-point-7-3 percentage points in the last presidential election, has not officially declared his candidacy but plans to do so on Thursday.

Take a listen.

"I am grateful to have been able to serve as the party leader for three years and to have achieved some meaningful results.

Things were tough in the beginning, but I’m leaving with the situation looking better than when I started. I will soon be starting a new chapter."

Politicians outside Lee's faction within the DP are also preparing to enter the race.

Among them, former DP lawmaker Kim Du-kwan, who also served as minister of interior, and governor of Gyeongsangnam-do Province, was the first to announce his candidacy.

Kim Dong-yeon, the current Governor of Gyeonggi-do Province, also formally declared his bid today, before departing for Michigan in the U.S. to address tariff-related issues.

Following Lee's resignation, the DP quickly shifted into election mode, planning to launch an election committee as soon as possible.

The party aims to select its presidential candidate by the end of this month.

Primary rules and the election schedule are also expected to be finalized soon, with candidate registration expected to start next week.

There’s growing attention on how the primary will be run, as different factions within the party hold different views.

In the last presidential election, the primary was based on the results of a party membership vote given a 50 percent share and public opinion polls also given a 50 percent share.

This time, however, politicians outside Lee’s faction are pushing for an open primary, where the outcome is determined entirely by public voting.

What's the mood at the People Power Party? Any updates?

Well, as for the People Power Party, there is no front runner like its rivals, and the primary is expected to have around 10 candidates or even more.

Now-former Labor Minister Kim Moon-soo, who resigned from his post yesterday, declared his candidacy today.

Let's take a listen.

"I received a lot of support and encouragement from the public. I've decided to follow the will of the people. I'm committed to defending South Korea's identity as a free democracy, and doing my part to help make the country even stronger."

PPP lawmaker Ahn Cheol-soo also declared his fourth run for presidency on Tuesday.

Former PPP Chair Han Dong-hoon said the formation of his camp will begin on Thursday, while Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon is planning to announce his candidacy on Sunday.

Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo's supporters said his official announcement will be on the 14th of April.

The party's election committee today decided to hold its national convention on May 3rd to choose its official presidential candidate.

Candidate registration will take place next Monday for two days, and the first-round contenders will be announced on April 16th.

With as many as 15 people expected to run, there’s a lot of talk about how many rounds of cutoffs there'll be, and how many candidates make it through each time.

Those details are set to be decided at tomorrow's meeting.

With the election date now official, I hear the election commission today ensured a fair and transparent process.

You're right. National Election Commission chief Roh Tae-ak today stressed the importance of the 21st presidential election, saying the commission will make the voting and counting process more transparent to build public trust.

Take a listen.

"The National Election Commission takes this election seriously and is committed to ensuring a fair and impartial process. Despite the short timeline, we’ll do all we can to prepare thoroughly so the will of the people is fully reflected in the outcome."

Roh also emphasized that election fraud is impossible, noting that over 300-thousand clerks take part in the voting and counting process, and more than 100-thousand observers monitor every step.

CCTV will record in real-time the storage rooms for ballot boxes, and the footage will be shared.

Ballot-counting clerks will count the ballots with their hands in addition to the electronic counting.

Let's shift our focus to the Constitutional reform that has been making headlines during the past few days.

I hear the Assembly Speaker has backtracked on the idea of holding a referendum on the election day. What's the story there?

You're right. Well, calls for constitutional reform surface almost in every election in South Korea.

But this time, National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik pushed for a nationwide referendum to take place alongside the upcoming election, emphasizing the need to strengthen the separation of powers to ensure popular sovereignty and national unity.

However, on Wednesday, he withdrew his earlier proposal, saying that it has become virtually impossible under the current political turmoil, especially after Acting President Han Duck-soo nominated two Constitutional Court justices to fill the bench.

Instead, Woo suggested opening full-scale discussions on the revision after the presidential election.

Alright, thank you, Ha-young, for your report today. Keep us posted on future developments.

Thank you.