Election to be held within 60 days; Acting President Han to announce exact date in next 10 days
Now that Yoon Suk Yeol's presidential term cut short by two years, with the Constitutional Court confirming his dismissal Friday, South Korea will hold a new presidential election likely in June.
The exact date of the election is undecided as of now. Acting President Han Duck-soo is obligated to announce it in the next 10 days.
This is according to the nation's law on replacing a president whose authority has been stripped by the court. The Article 68-2 of the Constitution states: "In case a vacancy occurs in the office of the President or the President-elect dies, or is disqualified by a court ruling or for any other reason, a successor shall be elected within 60 days."
The Article 35-2 of the Public Official Election Act states that in case of an election to fill a presidential vacancy "shall be held within 60 days from the time when the cause for holding the election becomes definite, but the election day shall be publicly announced by the President or acting President not later than 50 days before the election day."
This means the presidential election cannot be held later than June 3, and announcing the date cannot take place later than April 14.
Last time South Korea removed its leader from office via impeachment – President Park Geun-hye on March 10, 2017, the election took place on May 9 of that year. This was exactly 60 days after the court's verdict. Park’s impeachment had been confirmed by the Constitutional Court in a unanimous decision.
The Public Official Election Act states in the Article 34 that a presidential election shall be held on a Wednesday, but this clause is applied in case a president has fully served his or her term and not when one has been impeached. It was confirmed by the National Election Commission prior to the 2017 presidential election, which actually took place on a Tuesday.
Political parties are expected to hold primaries in late April, as candidates for a presidential election have to register themselves for two days since 24 days before the election. The election campaign commences the day after the candidate registration is completed -- 22 days before the election -- until one day before the election.
If a public official wants to run in the presidential election, one has to resign from one's post 90 days before the election. But in case of an election to fill an unexpected vacancy like in Yoon's case, one can still throw the hat in the ring if he or she resigns 30 days before the election.
This was also confirmed by the NEC in the aforementioned 2017 presidential election.
An incumbent member of the National Assembly could run in a presidential election without resigning, although several lawmakers in the past had stepped down before running -- including Park during her presidential campaign.
minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com
