South Korea’s former premier declares presidential bid, vows constitutional reform

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.

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