Key points
- Cabinet will make the decision at a meeting on Tuesday: official
- Yoon Suk Yeol was removed by a constitutional court
- Law needs a new presidential election within 60 days
ISLAMABAD: South Korea’s cabinet is likely to finalise a June 3 date for a presidential election after the removal of Yoon Suk Yeol last week for his short-lived martial law declaration, Yonhap news reported on Monday.
The news agency cited a government official as saying that although not required by law, the cabinet will make the decision at a meeting on Tuesday, as it needs to approve a holiday for the event.
Former President Yoon Suk Yeol was removed by the Constitutional Court on grounds of having violated his official duty by issuing the martial law decree on December 3 and mobilising forces to stop parliamentary proceedings.
Martial law declaration
AFP reported that South Korea’s opposition leader Lee Jae-myung on Friday hailed the Constitutional Court’s verdict removing former president Yoon Suk Yeol from office over his short-lived declaration of martial law.
Yoon apologised Friday after the country’s Constitutional Court upheld his impeachment over a botched martial law declaration, immediately stripping him of office.
“I am truly sorry and heartbroken that I was unable to meet your expectations,” he said in a short statement released after the court announced its unanimous verdict.
The law needs a new presidential election within 60 days if the incumbent dies or is removed from office, according to media reports.
Reuters reported that an official of the National Election Commission said the date mentioned in media reports was not final and would not become official until declared by the acting president, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo.
