South Korea Opposition leader Lee steps down amid expectations of presidential run

Seoul: South Korea's main Opposition party head Lee Jae-myung said on Wednesday he was stepping down as party leader, amid expectations that the current populist front-runner for the presidency in opinion polls would soon declare his run.

South Korea's labour minister, Kim Moon-soon, who has been among a handful of ruling People Power Party members who indicated intentions to run, also declared his candidacy.

South Korea will hold a presidential election on June 3, after former president Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment stemming from a December martial law declaration was upheld on April 4.

"I will be now starting new work," Lee, the Democratic Party leader, told a party leadership meeting carried live on his YouTube channel. He did not elaborate and did not confirm he would be standing for the presidency.

Lee, 61, lost by the slimmest margin in the country's history when he ran against Yoon in the 2022 presidential election. Last year, he led his liberals to a landslide victory in a parliamentary election.

Unlike the Democratic Party, the ruling People Power Party has a wide-open field of potential candidates including the labour minister and also the mayor of Seoul.

Kim, a firebrand conservative who has supported Yoon and called for his reinstatement, currently leads the field among conservative candidates, although he trails Lee in opinion polls under a two-way scenario.

He said he would focus on strengthening the security alliance with the United States but also seek a path for the country to potentially pursue nuclear armament by securing the right to reprocess nuclear fuel, which is considered a step toward building atomic weapons.

"In response to North Korea's nuclear threat, I will become a global leader in protecting freedom and human rights by securing nuclear fuel processing capabilities and developing nuclear-powered submarines," he said.