South Korea’s Prime Minister and Acting President Han Duck-soo has resigned and announced his presidential bid, pledging to shorten his term to three years in order to pursue constitutional reform and apply his economic expertise to address the ongoing trade crisis.
"I ultimately decided to step down from my position in order to do what I can, do what I must, for us to overcome the crisis we face," Han said, as cited by Yonhap.
Han made his announcement at the National Assembly, just one month before voters head to the polls on June 3 to elect a successor to impeached former President Yoon Suk Yeol.
Deputy Prime Minister Choi Sang-mok is now supposed to take on the role of the country’s acting president. He served in the position between December 2024 and March 2025.
Han, who previously served as prime minister under both liberal and conservative administrations and as South Korea’s ambassador to the United States, pledged to make an immediate push to amend the Constitution.
Outlining a detailed roadmap, Han said he would aim to draft an amendment proposal in his first year, finalize it in the second, and hold both general and presidential elections under the new Constitution in the third—after which he would step down.
“The key goal of amending the Constitution,” Han stated, “is for the president and the National Assembly to share power amid checks and balances—eliminating the juridification of politics and the politicization of the judiciary, and sincerely contributing to the national interest and public welfare through the institutionalization of cooperative governance and effective administration.”
Han also pledged to resolve current trade issues triggered in part by Washington's new tariff policy by drawing on his experience leading multiple trade negotiations to success.
He further promised to work for national unity and inclusion of the socially weak and marginalized.
South Korea’s chief trade negotiator, Yeo Han-koo, will travel to the United States from June 22 to 27 for a new round of high-level discussions aimed at resolving escalating trade tensions, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on Saturday.
South Korea on Friday pushed back against U.S. demands to sharply increase its defense budget, saying its current spending is already among the highest relative to GDP for U.S. allies.
South Korea’s new administration proposed $14.7 billion in additional spending on Thursday to boost weak domestic demand, as President Lee Jae Myung pushes economic recovery as his top priority.
North Korea launched over 10 rockets from near Pyongyang on Thursday, prompting fresh concerns in the region.
South Korea, the U.S., and Japan held their first joint air drills since President Lee Jae Myung took office, signalling security cooperation even as Seoul seeks renewed dialogue with North Korea.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has announced plans to invite Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to Armenia for the European Political Community (EPC) summit, scheduled for spring 2026 in Yerevan.
Uzbekistan’s Uzatom Agency and Russia’s Rosatom signed a Memorandum of Understanding to jointly develop radiation processing technologies for medical and agricultural sectors.
Baku hosted 14th meeting of the Joint Intergovernmental Commission on Cooperation between the Republic of Uzbekistan and the Republic of Azerbaijan. The delegations were headed by Uzbekistan’s Minister Laziz Kudratov and Azerbaijan’s Minister of Economy Mikayil Jabbarov.
Gazprom has signed new agreements with its Chinese partners to support the launch and operation of the cross-border section of the Far Eastern gas export pipeline to China.
Orkhan Nazarli, Head of Azerbaijan’s State Tax Service under the Ministry of Economy, held separate meetings with senior tax officials from Latvia and Montenegro during the 29th General Assembly of the Intra-European Organization of Tax Administrations (IOTA) in Baku.
Iranian missiles struck multiple locations across Israel and neighbouring regions early Friday morning, including a Microsoft office complex, according to emergency responders and local media reports.
Peace is no longer a dream. It is a discussion. On the streets of Baku and Yerevan, it is also a question, of trust, of foreign interests, and of who truly wants it.
A high-speed tram derailment in central Gothenburg, Sweden, has left at least eight people injured late on Thursday (19 June), after the vehicle slammed into a snack bar on Avenyn Avenue.
The 2025 G7 Leaders’ Summit was held June 15–17 in Kananaskis, Alberta, under Canada’s presidency. Prime Minister Mark Carney framed the meeting around priorities of protecting communities, energy and climate security, the digital transition, and future partnerships.
The USS Nimitz is heading to the Middle East amid tensions between Israel and Iran. The U.S. aircraft carrier has a decades-long history in the region, from the 1979 hostage crisis to modern deployments, often serving as a key asset during periods of rising friction with Iran.
Orkhan Nazarli, Head of Azerbaijan’s State Tax Service under the Ministry of Economy, held separate meetings with senior tax officials from Latvia and Montenegro during the 29th General Assembly of the Intra-European Organization of Tax Administrations (IOTA) in Baku.
The OIC's 51st ministerial session convenes in Istanbul to tackle pressing global and regional issues.
Japan has reportedly cancelled a planned high-level security meeting with the United States after Washington pressed Tokyo to increase its defense spending, according to the Financial Times.
Israel announced on Saturday that it had killed senior Iranian commander Saeed Izadi, head of the Palestine Corps of Iran’s Quds Force, in a targeted strike in Qom. Izadi was accused of supporting Hamas before its October 2023 attack on Israel.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that Ukraine is accelerating the development and production of interceptor drones to defend against the growing number of Iranian-made Shahed drones used by Russia in recent attacks.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has announced plans to invite Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to Armenia for the European Political Community (EPC) summit, scheduled for spring 2026 in Yerevan.
Uzbekistan’s Uzatom Agency and Russia’s Rosatom signed a Memorandum of Understanding to jointly develop radiation processing technologies for medical and agricultural sectors.
Baku hosted 14th meeting of the Joint Intergovernmental Commission on Cooperation between the Republic of Uzbekistan and the Republic of Azerbaijan. The delegations were headed by Uzbekistan’s Minister Laziz Kudratov and Azerbaijan’s Minister of Economy Mikayil Jabbarov.
Gazprom has signed new agreements with its Chinese partners to support the launch and operation of the cross-border section of the Far Eastern gas export pipeline to China.
Orkhan Nazarli, Head of Azerbaijan’s State Tax Service under the Ministry of Economy, held separate meetings with senior tax officials from Latvia and Montenegro during the 29th General Assembly of the Intra-European Organization of Tax Administrations (IOTA) in Baku.
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