2025 South Korean presidential election
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| Registered | 44,391,871 | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| Turnout | 79.38% ( 2.30pp) | ||||||||||||||||||||
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An early presidential election was held in South Korea on 3 June 2025. It was originally set for 3 March 2027, but the election was pushed forward after the impeachment and removal of Yoon Suk Yeol.[1][2] The date of 3 June was due to the requirement by the country's constitution for an election to be held within 60 days of when the presidency becomes vacant.[3][4]
Since democratization and the creation of the Sixth Republic, this was the ninth presidential election, the second election after a presidential impeachment, and the first held in a different year than originally scheduled.[5]
Democratic Party nominee and former Opposition leader Lee Jae-myung defeated ruling People Power Party nominee Kim Moon-soo, and Reform Party nominee Lee Jun-seok in a landslide victory.[6][7][8] Voter turnout was 79.38%, the highest since the 1997 presidential election.[9]
Election events
Democratic Party candidate Lee Jae-myung has had legal troubles that may ban him from being elected president. Under the Public Official Elections act, candidates who receive more than 1 million won in fines or any prison sentence are banned from serving as a public official for 5 and 10 years respectively. In March 23, Seoul High Court reversed a decision made sentencing Lee to one year in prison with a two-year probation, allowing him to run for public office again.[10] However, in May 2, a speedy 10-2 judgement from the Supreme Court reversed the lower court's decision, and sent the case back to Seoul High Court for a retrial.[11] The initial date of retrial was set at May 15, but was later delayed to June 18, which is after the election date.[12]
The two leading conservative candidates former Acting President Han Duck-soo and former Labor Minister Kim Moon-soo are expected to merge their campaigns, but made little progress in doing so.[13] Kim has said that the PPP and its chair has moved to unify campaigns without talking with him. A party spokesperson said that it's likely the party would move to remove Moon-soo of his candidacy if he did not agree to unify with Duck-soo.[14] The PPP confirmed early on May 10 that they would cancel the nomination of Kim, and instead nominate Han at an emergency convention the same day.[15] Later that day, members of the PPP rejected a resolution making Han the party's candidate following an all-party vote, resulting in Kim's nomination being reinstated.[16][17] Han later apologized for the candidacy dispute and withdrew from the election.[18]
Candidates
Democratic Party
Nominee
 |
|---|
| Lee Jae-myung |
| for President |
_(cropped).jpg) |
| Leader of the Democratic Party (2022–2025) |
 |
Withdrawn candidates
| Candidates in this section are sorted by date of withdrawal from the primaries | ||
| Kim Dong-yeon | Kim Kyoung-soo | Kim Doo-kwan |
|---|---|---|
 |
 |
 |
| Governor of Gyeonggi Province (since 2022) |
Governor of South Gyeongsang Province (2018–2021) |
Member of the National Assembly (2016–2024) |
| Withdrew: April 19 | Withdrew: April 19 | Withdrew: April 18 |
| [19][20] | [21][a][20] | [23][24] |
Primary results
The 21st Democratic Party presidential primary election was held on 27 April 2025.[25]
| Candidate | Results | Number of votes | Vote rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lee Jae-myung | Nominated | 623,695 | 89.77% |
| Kim Dong-yeon | Eliminated | 41,307 | 6.87% |
| Kim Kyoung-soo | Eliminated | 25,512 | 3.36% |
| Kim Doo-kwan | Withdrew | ||
People Power Party
Nominee
 |
|---|
| Kim Moon-soo |
| for President |
|
|
| Minister of Employment and Labor (2024–2025) |
Withdrawn candidates after the primaries
| Candidates in this section are sorted by date of withdrawal from the primaries | ||
| Han Duck-soo | ||
|---|---|---|
 | ||
| Acting President of South Korea
(2024; 2025) | ||
| Withdrew: May 10 Nomination rescinded after Kim Moon-soo reinstated as nominee (Endorsed Kim Moon-soo) | ||
| [18] | ||
Withdrawn candidates during the primaries
| Candidates in this section are sorted by date of withdrawal from the primaries | ||
| Han Dong-hoon | Ahn Cheol-soo | Hong Joon-pyo |
|---|---|---|
.png) |
.png) |
 |
| Minister of Justice (2022–2023) |
Member of the National Assembly (since 2022) |
Mayor of Daegu (2022–2025) |
| Withdrew: May 3 Eliminated in the final round of primary[26] |
Withdrew: April 29 Eliminated in the second round of primary[26] | |
| [27] | [28][29] | [30] |
| Na Kyung-won | Yoo Jeong-bok | Lee Cheol-woo |
 |
 |
 |
| Member of the National Assembly (since 2024) |
Mayor of Incheon (since 2022) |
Governor of North Gyeongsang Province (since 2018) |
| Withdrew: April 22 Eliminated in the first round of primary | ||
| [31][32] | [33] | [33] |
| Yang Hyang-ja | Yoo Seong-min | Oh Se-hoon |
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 |
| Member of the National Assembly (2020–2024) |
Member of the National Assembly (2005–2020) |
Mayor of Seoul (since 2021) |
| Withdrew: April 22 Eliminated in the first round of primary |
Withdrew: April 13 Exits presidential race |
Withdrew: April 12 Exits presidential race (endorsed Ahn Cheol-soo[34]) |
| [35] | [36][37] | [38] |
Primary results
| Candidate | 1st Round: 22 April 2025[b] |
2nd Round: 29 April 2025[c] |
Final Round: 3 May 2025[d] | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opinion Polls | Membership Votes | % | Opinion Poll | % | Membership Votes | % | Total points (%) | |||
| Kim Moon-soo | Advanced | n/a | n/a | TBD | 51.81% | TBD | 61.25% | 56.53% | ||
| Han Dong-hoon | Advanced | n/a | n/a | TBD | 48.19% | TBD | 38.75% | 43.37% | ||
| Ahn Cheol-soo | Advanced | n/a | n/a | Eliminated | ||||||
| Hong Joon-pyo | Advanced | n/a | n/a | Eliminated | ||||||
| Na Kyung-won | Eliminated | |||||||||
| Yoo Jeong-bok | Eliminated | |||||||||
| Lee Cheol-woo | Eliminated | |||||||||
| Yang Hyang-ja | Eliminated | |||||||||
| Votes cast | n/a | 100.0 | 100.0 | TBD | 100.0 | |||||
| Sources: [39][40] | ||||||||||
New Reform Party
Nominee
.svg.png) |
|---|
| Lee Jun-seok |
| for President |
.jpg) |
| Member of the National Assembly (since 2024) |
| [41][42] |
New Future Democratic Party
Lee Nak-yon hinted at a campaign for president at the National Convention for Constitutional Revision hosted by the New Future Democratic Party.[43] On 30 April, Lee’s campaign advisor announced Lee’s candidacy registration, making his campaign official.[44] However, on May 10, 2025, Lee decided against a run, and did not endorse a candidate.[45]
Withdrawn candidates
| Candidates in this section are sorted by date of withdrawal from the election |
| Lee Nak-yon |
|---|
 |
| Former Prime Minister (2017–2020) |
| Withdrew: May 10 After the primary |
| [46] |
Rebuilding Korea Party
On 27 April 2025, the Rebuilding Korea Party announced their support for the Democratic Party's Lee Jae-myung for the presidency.[47]
Withdrawn candidates
| Candidates in this section are sorted by date of withdrawal from the primaries |
| Cho Kuk |
|---|
.png) |
| Member of the National Assembly (2024) |
| Ineligible[note 1] |
| [49] |
Progressive Party
On 19 April, the Progressive Party selected Kim Jae-yeon as its presidential candidate.[50] However, she withdrew on May 9, 2025 saying that she wanted to stop the PPP, and endorsed Lee Jae-myung.[51]
Withdrawn candidates after the primaries
| Candidates in this section are sorted by date of withdrawal from the election |
| Kim Jae-yeon |
|---|
 |
| Leader of the Progressive Party (since 2024) |
| Withdrew: May 9 After the primary |
| [52][53][51] |
Withdrawn candidates during the primaries
| Candidates in this section are sorted by date of withdrawal from the primaries |
| Kang Sung-hee |
|---|
 |
| Member of the National Assembly (since 2023) |
| Withdrew: April 19 Eliminated in the primary |
| [54] |
Democratic Labor Party
Nominee
.svg.png){kind=logo} Democratic Labor Party Ticket |
|---|
| Kwon Yeong-guk |
| for President |
 |
| Leader of the Democratic Labor Party (since 2024) |
| [55] |
Independents
Declared candidates
| Independent Ticket |
|---|
| Hwang Kyo-ahn |
| for President |
 |
| Former Acting President (2016–2017) |
| [56] |
Withdrawn candidates
- Han Duck-soo, Acting President of South Korea (2024; 2025) and Prime Minister of South Korea (2007–2008; 2022–2025) (withdrew on 10 May 2025 to run as the People Power Party nominee)[18]
Disqualified candidates
- Jeon Kwang-hoon, President of Christian Council of Korea[57]
Opinion polls
Results
| Candidate | Party | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lee Jae-myung | Democratic Party | 17,287,513 | 49.42 | |
| Kim Moon-soo | People Power Party | 14,395,639 | 41.15 | |
| Lee Jun-seok | Reform Party | 2,917,523 | 8.34 | |
| Kwon Yeong-guk | Democratic Labor Party | 344,150 | 0.98 | |
| Song Jin-ho | Independent | 35,791 | 0.10 | |
| Total | 34,980,616 | 100.00 | ||
| Valid votes | 34,980,616 | 99.27 | ||
| Invalid/blank votes | 255,881 | 0.73 | ||
| Total votes | 35,236,497 | 100.00 | ||
| Registered voters/turnout | 44,391,871 | 79.38 | ||
| Source: NEC | ||||
Notes
- ↑ Kim Kyoung-soo was sentenced to prison in July 2021 and was ineligible to run for office until April 2028, but was pardoned and reinstated in August 2024, allowing him to run.[22]
- ↑ Conducted using exclusively opinion polls and surveys overseen by five polling agencies, with 4,000 respondents.
- ↑ Conducted using both opinion polls managed by five polling agencies that targeted 6,000 People Power Party supporters, and a membership vote consisting of 394,000 party members, each being weighted at 50 percent. The candidates’ voting rates and rankings were not announced.
- ↑ Will be conducted using both opinion polls and a membership vote, each being weighted at 50 percent.
References
- ↑ Rashid, Raphael; McCurry, Justin (14 December 2024). "South Korean parliament votes to impeach president". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 14 December 2024. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
- ↑ Nauman, Qasim (3 April 2025). "South Korea Awaits Court Ruling on Impeached President's Fate". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 5 April 2025. Retrieved 3 April 2025.
- ↑ Ji-Hwan, Paik (7 April 2025). "Gov't sets snap presidential election for June 3". Korea JoongAng Daily. Archived from the original on 8 April 2025. Retrieved 6 April 2025.
- ↑ "South Korea sets snap presidential election for June 3, drawing out contenders". Reuters. 8 April 2025. Archived from the original on 9 April 2025.
- ↑ "Republic of Korea: Election for President". IFES. Archived from the original on 21 January 2025.
- ↑ Alisha Rahaman Sarkar (3 June 2025). "Exit polls in South Korea election show huge victory for left-wing leader Lee". The Independent.
- ↑ "Liberal Lee set to win South Korea's presidential election: Exit poll". Al Jazeera.
- ↑ "South Koreans vote for new president in wake of Yoon's ouster". France 24. 3 June 2025.
- ↑ Stephen Quillen (3 June 2025). "South Korea election results 2025 live: Lee Jae-myung projected to win". Al jazeera.
- ↑ 구나연 (2025-03-26). "이재명 선거법 위반 2심 무죄‥1심 판단 뒤집혀". MBC 뉴스 (in Korean). Retrieved 2025-05-07.
- ↑ Daily, The Chosun (2025-05-01). "With retrial ordered, Lee Jae-myung faces uncertain legal fate even if elected". The Chosun Daily. Retrieved 2025-05-07.
- ↑ "DP candidate Lee Jae-myung's retrial rescheduled to after the June 3 election". koreajoongangdaily.joins.com. 2025-05-07. Retrieved 2025-05-07.
- ↑ "Candidate merger failure would be 'betrayal and treachery,' says Han Duck-soo". koreajoongangdaily.joins.com. 2025-05-06. Retrieved 2025-05-07.
- ↑ "PPP presidential candidate Kim Moon-soo claims party is leaving him out in the cold". Korean JoongAng. Retrieved 7 May 2025.
- ↑ 기자, 양지혜. "김문수 "국민의힘 후보 자격 불법 박탈…법적·정치적 대응"". Chosun. Retrieved 10 May 2025.
- ↑ Oh, Seok-min. "(5th LD) PPP members vote down motion to switch presidential candidate from Kim to Han". Yonhap. Retrieved 10 May 2025.
- ↑ "South Korea's conservatives settle on Kim Moon-soo after nomination turmoil exposes rifts". Reuters. 10 May 2025. Retrieved 11 May 2025.
- 1 2 3 Oh, Seok-min. "Former PM Han apologizes for conservative party's presidential candidacy disarray". Yonhap. Retrieved 10 May 2025.
- ↑ Yoo, Cheong-mo (9 April 2025). "Gyeonggi governor declares presidential bid". Yonhap. Archived from the original on 10 April 2025. Retrieved 9 April 2025.
- 1 2 "Lee Jae-myung takes first Democratic Party primary in landslide victory". Korea JoongAng Daily. 2025-04-19. Retrieved 2025-04-30.
- ↑ 신진영·송승현 (2025-04-10). "김경수 전 지사, 이번 주 중 출마 입장...민주당 '친문' 합류 얼마나". 아주경제 (in Korean). Archived from the original on 10 April 2025. Retrieved 2025-04-10.
- ↑ Koo, Hye-jin (4 December 2024). "복권되자마자 김경수 '꿈틀'…조국 제치고 범야권 대선 주자 3위로". JTBC (in Korean). Archived from the original on 20 January 2025. Retrieved 22 December 2024.
- ↑ "Kim Du-kwan announces presidential candidacy as first progressive contender in Korea". CHOSUNBIZ. Archived from the original on 15 April 2025. Retrieved 2025-04-10.
- ↑ "Kim Doo-kwan exits race, setting stage for three-way Democratic Party race". The Korea Herald. Archived from the original on 21 April 2025. Retrieved 2025-04-18.
- ↑ "민주당 대선후보 이재명 "압도적 정권 탈환 통해 구시대 청산"". Donga. 2025-04-27. Archived from the original on 2025-04-28. Retrieved 2025-04-27.
- 1 2 조선일보 (2025-04-29). "[속보] 김문수 vs 한동훈... 국민의힘 경선 결선서 맞대결". 조선일보 (in Korean). Archived from the original on 29 April 2025. Retrieved 2025-04-29.
- ↑ "Ex-PPP leader Han Dong-hoon announces presidential run". The Korea Times. 10 April 2025. Archived from the original on 10 April 2025. Retrieved 10 April 2025.
- ↑ Bae, Jae-sung (29 April 2024). "차기 대통령은 누구죠? 질문에…안철수 "접니다!" 손 번쩍". The JoongAng (in Korean). Archived from the original on 29 April 2024. Retrieved 14 July 2024.
- ↑ "안철수, 오늘 광화문 광장서 '대선 출마' 선언". KBS 뉴스 (in Korean). Archived from the original on 8 April 2025. Retrieved 8 April 2025.
- ↑ Wonju, Yi (14 April 2025). "Ex-Daegu Mayor Hong declares presidential bid". Yonhap News Agency. Archived from the original on 14 April 2025. Retrieved 14 April 2025.
- ↑ 边龙珠 (2025-04-11). "罗景垣宣布参选总统". 韩联社 (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 25 April 2025.
- ↑ Eun-ji, Bahk. "Ahn joins final four: PPP confirms lineup for second-round primary". Korea Times. Archived from the original on 23 April 2025. Retrieved 22 April 2025.
- 1 2 Sun-Ah, Shim (15 April 2025). "Ex-Daegu Mayor Hong declares presidential bid". Yonhap News Agency. Archived from the original on 15 April 2025. Retrieved 15 April 2025.
- ↑ 김한영. "안철수 "오세훈, 저와 정치적 스탠스 가장 비슷하다고 해"". n.news.naver.com (in Korean). Archived from the original on 16 April 2025. Retrieved 2025-04-17.
- ↑ Eun-Jung, Kim (16 April 2025). "PPP shortlists 8 hopefuls for 1st round of presidential primary". Yonhap News Agency. Archived from the original on 16 April 2025. Retrieved 16 April 2025.
- ↑ Han, Sang-hee (7 May 2024). "유승민 "남은 도전 27년 대선 딱 하나…당대표 출마 깊이 고민"". News 1 (in Korean). Archived from the original on 14 July 2024. Retrieved 14 July 2024.
- ↑ 한영혜 (2025-04-13). "[속보] 유승민, 당 경선 불출마 선언 "국힘, 반성과 변화의 길 거부"". 중앙일보 (in Korean). Archived from the original on 17 April 2025. Retrieved 2025-04-13.
- ↑ Yoo, Mina (12 April 2025). "오세훈 서울시장, 대선 불출마 선언". Yonhap (in Korean). Archived from the original on 12 April 2025. Retrieved 12 April 2025.
- ↑ CHOSUNBIZ (2025-04-29). "Kim Moon-soo, Han Dong-hoon advance as Ahn Cheol-soo, Hong Joon-pyo eliminated". CHOSUNBIZ. Retrieved 2025-04-29.
- ↑ "김문수 56.53% 득표로 국민의힘 대선 후보…"이재명 집권 막기위해 강력한 연대 구축할 것"". KBS 뉴스 (in Korean). Retrieved 2025-05-03.
- ↑ Kim, Hyung-jun (11 April 2024). "동탄서 살아난 이준석, '분열의 아이콘' 극복하고 차기 대선주자 위상 찾나". Hankookilbo (in Korean). Archived from the original on 11 April 2024. Retrieved 14 July 2024.
- ↑ Sung, Jiwon (18 March 2025). "尹 선고 앞두고…개혁신당, 이준석 대선후보 선출". The JoongAng (in Korean). Archived from the original on 22 March 2025. Retrieved 6 April 2025.
- ↑ 김정우. "이낙연 "알량한 남은 힘, 대한민국 위기 극복 위해 내놓겠다"". MBC 뉴스 (in Korean). Archived from the original on 29 April 2025. Retrieved 2025-04-20.
- ↑ 기민도 (2025-04-28). "이낙연 '대선 출마+반명 빅텐트 합류설'…민주 "거기까진 안 가야"". 한겨레 (in Korean). Archived from the original on 29 April 2025. Retrieved 2025-04-30.
- ↑ 기민도 (2025-05-10). "이낙연표 '반명 빅텐트' 없던 일…"출마 기다리셨던 분들께 죄송"". 한겨레 (in Korean). Archived from the original on 10 May 2025. Retrieved 2025-05-10.
- ↑ Park, Soon-bong (12 January 2024). "총선 출마 선그은 이낙연, 대선엔 "지금은…" 여지". Kyunghyang Shinmun (in Korean). Archived from the original on 12 January 2024. Retrieved 14 July 2024.
- ↑ Oh, Seok-min (27 April 2025). "Minor opposition party vows full support for DP presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung". Pressian. Archived from the original on 27 April 2025. Retrieved 27 April 2025.
- ↑ Park, Tae-hun (13 December 2024). "조국 "감옥 가면 턱걸이, 푸시업, 스쾃, 책 읽기…슬감생" 다 계획이 있다". News1 (in Korean). Archived from the original on 13 December 2024. Retrieved 22 December 2024.
- ↑ Lee, Jae-ho (31 March 2024). "조국혁신당 총선 돌풍 대선까지? 조국, 차기 대통령 여론조사 3위". Pressian (in Korean). Archived from the original on 2 April 2024. Retrieved 14 July 2024.
- ↑ 배재성 (2025-04-19). "'진보당 대선 후보' 김재연 "韓최초 페미니스트 대통령 될 것"". 중앙일보 (in Korean). Retrieved 2025-05-06.
- 1 2 Soo-jung, Lee. "In backing DP's Lee, Jinbo Party chief shifts focus from feminism to stopping PPP". Korean JoongAng. Retrieved 9 May 2025.
- ↑ 김채운 (2025-04-08). "진보당 김재연 대선 출마 선언 "국힘 해체, 내란 세력 완전 제압"". 한겨레 (in Korean). Archived from the original on 26 April 2025. Retrieved 2025-04-13.
- ↑ 배재성 (2025-04-19). "'진보당 대선 후보' 김재연 "韓최초 페미니스트 대통령 될 것"". 중앙일보 (in Korean). Retrieved 2025-05-06.
- ↑ "'입틀막' 강성희, 대선 출마 "국민의힘 해산 청구할 것"". 노컷뉴스 (in Korean). 2025-04-08. Archived from the original on 13 April 2025. Retrieved 2025-04-13.
- ↑ "권영국 정의당 대표, 대선 경선 출마…한상균과 2파전 전망". Khan (in Korean). 2025-04-14. Archived from the original on 15 April 2025. Retrieved 2025-04-14.
- ↑ "스카이데일리, 황교안 "부정선거 척결" 무소속 출마… 尹 화답 '눈길'". Skye Daily. Archived from the original on 14 April 2025. Retrieved 2025-04-14.
- ↑ Lee, Dong-hoon (19 April 2025). "Pastor Jeon Gwang-hoon: "I will run for president"". Chosun Weekly. Archived from the original on 19 April 2025. Retrieved 20 April 2025.