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.
Two North Korean fishermen picked up by South Korean patrols in March remain stranded in the South as Pyongyang refuses to respond to requests for their return.
The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) trade ministers’ meeting in South Korea took on new urgency as countries sought dialogue with the United States before a 90-day suspension on tariffs ends in July.
Families of victims killed in the Jeju Air plane crash last December have filed a criminal complaint against 15 people, including South Korea's transport minister and the airline's CEO, accusing them of professional negligence.
South Korea’s presidential candidates kicked off their campaigns on Monday, promising to heal a fractured nation, boost the economy, and navigate a trade dispute with the United States, ahead of the June 3 snap election triggered by the ousting of president Yoon Suk Yeol.
Uzbekistan and South Korea are deepening their collaboration on railway development as both countries advance plans for a high-speed passenger rail line connecting Tashkent and Samarkand.
U.S. federal authorities have charged the alleged leader of an Eastern European neo-Nazi group with plotting acts of domestic terrorism, following an investigation that uncovered plans targeting Jewish and minority communities.
Iran and the United States ended their fifth round of nuclear talks in Rome with some progress but no resolution, according to the mediator from Oman.
Despite warnings from FEMA that offering aid to migrants might violate smuggling laws, shelters along the U.S.-Mexico border continue to receive individuals released by ICE, creating confusion and concern among nonprofits.
Russia is preparing to present Ukraine with a draft peace proposal once a recent prisoner swap concludes, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov announced Friday, signaling a potential step forward in peace efforts.
Boeing has struck a deal with the U.S. Justice Department to avoid criminal charges over the 737 Max tragedies, agreeing to pay over $1.1 billion in penalties, victim support, and safety reforms.
Tensions flare in the India-France Rafale deal as France refuses to share the fighter jet’s source code, limiting India’s ability to integrate indigenous weapons and reducing its combat autonomy.
France has rejected India’s request to share source codes needed to integrate indigenous weapons into Rafale fighter jets. Despite repeated appeals, French manufacturer Dassault Aviation has refused to compromise on the issue
Anton Kobyakov, adviser to Russian President Vladimir Putin, claimed at the St. Petersburg International Legal Forum that the USSR’s dissolution was legally invalid and that the Soviet Union still exists under constitutional law, framing the Ukraine war as an “internal process.”
In a region long defined by conflict and complex history, AnewZ set out to hear the voices that matter most- those of the people.
Two staff members from the Israeli embassy in Washington, D.C.- Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Lynn Milgrim were shot and killed on Wednesday night by a lone gunman as they left an event at the Capital Jewish Museum, close to the White House.
U.S. federal authorities have charged the alleged leader of an Eastern European neo-Nazi group with plotting acts of domestic terrorism, following an investigation that uncovered plans targeting Jewish and minority communities.
Iran and the United States ended their fifth round of nuclear talks in Rome with some progress but no resolution, according to the mediator from Oman.
Russia is preparing to present Ukraine with a draft peace proposal once a recent prisoner swap concludes, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov announced Friday, signaling a potential step forward in peace efforts.
Boeing has struck a deal with the U.S. Justice Department to avoid criminal charges over the 737 Max tragedies, agreeing to pay over $1.1 billion in penalties, victim support, and safety reforms.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has ordered the arrest of those responsible for the failed launch of the country’s second naval destroyer, calling the incident an “unpardonable criminal act” and demanding accountability amid skepticism over the extent of damage to the warship.
U.S. federal authorities have charged the alleged leader of an Eastern European neo-Nazi group with plotting acts of domestic terrorism, following an investigation that uncovered plans targeting Jewish and minority communities.
Iran and the United States ended their fifth round of nuclear talks in Rome with some progress but no resolution, according to the mediator from Oman.
Despite warnings from FEMA that offering aid to migrants might violate smuggling laws, shelters along the U.S.-Mexico border continue to receive individuals released by ICE, creating confusion and concern among nonprofits.
Russia is preparing to present Ukraine with a draft peace proposal once a recent prisoner swap concludes, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov announced Friday, signaling a potential step forward in peace efforts.
Boeing has struck a deal with the U.S. Justice Department to avoid criminal charges over the 737 Max tragedies, agreeing to pay over $1.1 billion in penalties, victim support, and safety reforms.
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