The power vacuum at the top of South Korea’s government has overshadowed Seoul’s efforts to deal with the administration of United States President Donald Trump at a time of spiralling US tariffs and slowing growth in Asia’s fourth-largest economy.
Lee Jae-myung, the populist leader of the liberal Democratic Party who had lost to Yoon by a razor-thin margin in 2022, is a clear front-runner but faces legal challenges of his own under multiple trials for charges including violating the election law and bribery.
The conservatives have a wide-open field of candidates.
According to a Gallup poll published on April 4, 34 per cent of respondents supported Lee as the next leader, 9 per cent backed conservative Labour Minister Kim Moon-soo, 5 per cent former ruling party leader Han Dong-hoon, 4 per cent Daegu mayor Hong Joon-pyo, and 2 per cent Seoul mayor Oh Se-hoon.
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