Acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn on Wednesday announced his decision not to run in the upcoming presidential election slated for May 9, vowing to focus on his current role as state administrator in the absence of a president.

Hwang’s decision is a blow to ousted President Park Geun-hye’s Libery Korea Party, which has been struggling to find a candidate strong enough to counter the formidable liberal front-runner Moon Jae-in. Hwang was the only conservative figure who garnered a support rating exceeding 10 percent in polls.
 

“For the sake of state affairs stabilization and a fair administration of the presidential election, I decided it would be inappropriate for me to run in the election,” Hwang said at a provisional Cabinet meeting held at the Seoul Government Complex.

“I will manage the presidential election, which is less than two months away, fairly and transparently.”

Wednesday’s Cabinet meeting confirmed the designation of May 9 as the election day. 

With Hwang out, the dynamics of the South Korean presidential race appear to have shifted further to the left, with conservatives losing their strongest possible candidate for a second time -- after former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

The Liberty Korea Party, which is now left with only minority candidates with single-digit support ratings, was shaken by the announcement.

“We respect (Hwang’s) decision which is believed to have come after much consideration,” the party’s spokesperson said through a statement.

According to a survey released by local pollster R&Search on Wednesday, just hours before Hwang confirmed his decision not to make a presidential bid, the acting president ranked fourth among presidential aspirants with 10.2 percent in support rating. South Gyeongsang Gov. Hong Joon-pyo, who the conservative party considers an alternative to Hwang, had 3.3 percent.

In the lead were liberal candidates, starting from front-runner Moon of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea with 34.5 percent. Moon was followed by South Chungcheong Gov. An Hee-jung of the same party and the People’s Party’s former chief Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo.

The opposition, which is likely to benefit from Hwang’s exclusion, welcomed the announcement.

“As someone who served as key ministers and prime minister under the former Park Geun-hye administration, Hwang should never have been mentioned as a potential runner in the first place,” said Rep. Youn Kwang-suk, chief spokesperson of the Democratic Party in a statement.

The Bareun Party, a splinter of the former Saenuri Party which is now the Liberty Korea Party, also said that Hwang should prioritize his role to unite the nation ahead of the imminent election.

According to the Constitution and the Public Officials Election Act, a presidential election has to be held within 60 days from the ouster or resignation of a former president -- in this case from the Constitutional Court’s impeachment ruling last Friday.

By Bae Hyun-jung (tellme@heraldcorp.com)