Acting President and Prime Minister Han Duck-soo (centre) speaks during a Cabinet meeting held at Government Complex Seoul on Tuesday. — YONHAP/VNA Photo

SEOUL — South Korea's Cabinet confirmed that an early presidential election would be held on June 3, following former President Yoon Suk Yeol's ouster through parliament-led impeachment over his botched imposition of martial law last December.

Acting President and Prime Minister Han Duck-soo approved the plan at a Cabinet meeting Tuesday, as the Constitution stipulates that an early presidential election shall be held between 50 and 60 days after the sitting president's removal. Yoon was formally removed from his post on Friday, meaning the election would fall between May 24 and June 3.

Han said in the Cabinet meeting that he made the decision for the sake of the smooth execution of statutory affairs necessary for election management, as well as the time needed for political parties to prepare for the election. The government had consulted with the National Election Commission and other authorities prior to the determination, he added.

The polls will open from 6am to 8pm on June 3, following early in-person voting on May 29 and 30 from 6am to 6pm. Polls for overseas voting will be open from May 20-25 from 8am to 5pm local time, while shipboard voting will take place from May 26-29.

The winner of the June 3 election will begin his or her term as South Korea's president on June 4, without a transitional period.

Han at the Cabinet meeting urged the Interior Ministry and other related government bodies to closely cooperate with election authorities to strive for fairness and transparency in the upcoming election to restore people's trust. He stressed that elections are the foundation of a democratic society.

"Now is the time to quickly heal the wounds and gather strength for South Korea's leap forward," Han said.

Since the 1987 democratisation that set up the single five-year term limit for presidents, South Korea had conventionally held presidential elections in mid-December, until the ouster of disgraced former President Park Geun-hye due to a broad corruption scandal in 2017.

With Park's ouster following a unanimous impeachment verdict at the Constitutional Court in March 2017, an early presidential election took place in May 2017, through which former President Moon Jae-in was elected and started his term the day after his victory.

The following and most recent presidential election took place on March 9, 2022, abiding by the Public Official Election Act. Yoon Suk Yeol at the time narrowly overcame current opposition leader Rep. Lee Jae-myung. Had Yoon completed his five-year term, the next election would have been held in March 2027.

June election to cost over 500 billion won

Following the South Korean Cabinet’s confirmation of June 3 as the early presidential election day, the government announced Tuesday that some KRW510 billion  (US$344 million) of the national budget will be spent covering election costs.

During Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting, chaired by acting President and Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, the government approved a special expenditure plan to allow KRW395.7 billion to be used in managing domestic and overseas voting, supporting political parties and helping local governments conduct election-related tasks.

The move comes as only KRW2.9 billion was initially allocated to the National Election Commission this year, making it necessary to use the government’s contingency budget.

Out of the KRW2.4 trillion in this year’s contingency funds, KRW1.6 trillion allocated for elections, disasters and emergencies will cover election-related expenses exceeding the budget allocated to the NEC for elections.

As for election cost reimbursements given to presidential candidates within 70 days of election day, the government estimates around KRW115 billion to be used, bringing the total expected government expenditure for the early elections to over KRW510 billion.

For presidential candidates that garner more than 15 per cent of the vote, the government fully reimburses election costs. Those who garner less than 15 per cent of votes are reimbursed half of the total election costs.

The campaign spending cap for each party or candidate in this election is set at around KRW48.4 billion. With both the Democratic Party of Korea and the People Power Party expected to surpass the 15 per cent threshold in votes, a combined KRW96.8 billion is anticipated to go into reimbursements.

In a press briefing after Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting, the Ministry of Interior and Safety announced that it will operate a situation room to oversee the progress of legally mandated election tasks.

“Due to a vacancy in the presidency, the upcoming 21st presidential elections will be held within a short 60-day period,” said acting Interior Minister Ko Ki-dong. “Given the unprecedented public interest in the upcoming elections, the ministry will provide utmost support to ensure it is conducted fairly and transparently.”

Although details regarding how the situation room will operate will be announced soon, an Interior Ministry official explained to The Korea Herald that it will run similarly to how it was run during the general elections in April 2024.

“The scale of the situation room, however, will differ in terms of the personnel selected to work in it for the presidential elections, given the scale of importance the upcoming elections hold,” the ministry official added.

The situation room will be required to oversee the preparation of electoral registers and cooperate with relevant agencies, including the NEC and the police. It will monitor all election-related duties by the NEC and local governments according to the election schedule while conducting on-site inspections and providing support in terms of facilities, personnel and equipment.

Additionally, the situation room will be tasked with tracking major developments and incidents related to the elections and work with relevant agencies to ensure a prompt and coordinated response in support of fair and transparent elections.

As for illegal election activities, including the filming of polls and generating fake news content targeting presidential candidates, Ko added that the government will respond “strictly, in cooperation with relevant agencies such as the prosecution and police.”

According to the Ministry of Justice, directives were issued to the prosecution by acting Justice Minister Kim Seok-woo, to be prepared in “rigorously cracking down on major election crimes, such as the spread of false information, false propaganda, bribery and election-related violence.”

Moreover, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency began recruiting police personnel to safeguard presidential candidates once the campaigning period begins, as the Korean National Police Agency is currently working to formulate a nationwide security plan for the upcoming elections.

Once official election campaigning begins, the KNPA plans to deploy detectives, riot police and police personnel associated with local precincts to support campaign sites. — THE KOREA HERALD/ANN