Early presidential elections were held in South Korea on 3 June 2025. Democratic Party nominee and former opposition leader Lee Jae Myung defeated the ruling People Power Party nominee Kim Moon-soo and New Reform Party nominee Lee Jun-seok.
These were the ninth presidential elections since the 1987 democratization and the establishment of the Sixth Republic, the second to be held following an impeachment, and the first to take place in a year different from the original schedule. Originally scheduled for 3 March 2027, the election was brought forward to 3 June 2025, following the impeachment and removal of Yoon Suk Yeol. An early election is required by the constitution of South Korea within 60 days of a presidential vacancy. The 2025 early election was triggered by the 4 April decision of the Constitutional Court of Korea that removed Yoon from office. Later, the government officially called an election for 3 June – the second snap presidential election in South Korean history.
Lee, who narrowly lost the 2022 presidential election to Yoon, ran again and won with a comfortable margin. Voter turnout was 79.38%, the highest since the 1997 presidential election. Campaign issues included the 2024 martial law crisis, infighting within the PPP, the economy, housing costs, political polarization, Trump tariffs, gender equality, the cost-of-living crisis, and the aging crisis.
Background
Following the martial law declaration by then-President Yoon Suk Yeol on 3 December 2024, the National Assembly voted to impeach him on 14 December 2024, with 204 lawmakers voting in favor, out of the National Assembly's total membership of 300. The Constitutional Court of Korea upheld the impeachment on 4 April 2025, removing Yoon from office.
Under the constitution, a election must be held within 60 days of the office of the President becoming vacant. On 8 April, acting President Han Duck-soo called an election for 3 June.
Electoral system
The president of South Korea is elected via a single-round plurality voting system. Presidents are limited to a single five-year term, with no possibility of re-election. In regularly scheduled presidential elections, the winner takes office two months after Election Day. However, in a snap election, the winner takes office the moment the National Election Commission chair certifies the votes and strikes the gavel three times. There is no transition period.
Nominations
The National Election Commission (NEC) opened preliminary candidate registration on 4 April 2025. Incumbent heads of municipal governments who chose to run for president were required to resign from their existing positions by 4 May.
Democratic Party
On 10 April, Lee Jae Myung announced his candidacy. He ran on reducing economic inequality, growing the economy through investments, and strengthening diplomatic relations with the United States and Japan. Lee also pledged to relocate the Office of the President and National Assembly to Sejong City. Lee further promised to codify Sejong City's status as South Korea's administrative capital.
On 12 April 2025, the Democratic Party of Korea announced that its presidential primary would be equally weighted between votes by dues-paying members and a public poll conducted by two polling companies that would survey one million people. The final decision would be released on 27 April, following a full party vote on 14 April and an online vote by its central committee on 15 April. This was the first DPK primary to include participants aged 16 to 18, following a 2022 revision to the Political Parties Act that lowered the minimum party membership age from 18 to 16. On 18 April, the Democratic Party held its first televised debate. On 23 April, the party held its second televised debate. During the debate, the three candidates discussed constitutional amendments to either shorten presidential terms or allow multiple terms, and when the changes would take effect. On 27 April, the party officially nominated Lee Jae Myung after a primary landslide.
Nominee
DPK leader (2022–2025) and Assemblyman Lee Jae Myung, resigned from DPK leadership on 9 April, announced his presidential bid on 10 April, and won the nomination on 27 April.
Withdrawn or eliminated candidates
Kim Kyoung-soo was sentenced to prison in July 2021 and disqualified from running for public office until April 2028, but he was pardoned in August 2024, restoring his eligibility.
People Power Party
On 3 May 2025, the People Power Party (PPP) held a primary and announced the nominee at its party convention. Following three rounds of voting, former Minister of Employment and Labor Kim Moon-soo was won the party nomination. However, the PPP's leadership forced a rescission of Kim's nomination in the early hours of 10 May, citing Kim's refusal to undergo a candidate unification process with Han Duck-soo. Han was subsequently made a member of the PPP and declared as the PPP's nominee. Kim referred to the move as a midnight "coup d'état." The sudden switch faced harsh criticism from within the party, since Han had not participated in the PPP primary, leading to accusations of free-riding. A PPP membership-wide vote on approving the switch was held on 10 May from 10:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. KST. PPP members rejected the switch and reinstated Kim Moon-soo as the PPP's presidential candidate.
Nominee
Kim Moon-soo, Minister of Employment and Labor (2024–2025) (Announced bid on 9 April, won nomination on 3 May, nomination rescinded on 10 May, nomination subsequently reinstated on 10 May)
Third party nominees and independent candidates
Withdrawn, eliminated, or ineligible candidates
On 9 April 2025, former prime minister and acting president Hwang Kyo-ahn announced his presidential bid. Hwang officially registered as an independent candidate on 11 May.
On 1 May 2025, Han Duck-soo resigned as acting president and concurrent prime minister of South Korea and announced his presidential bid the next day. Han pledged to amend the constitution to allow up to two four-year terms. Han committed to resigning immediately upon a successful amendment.
Independent candidate Song Jin-ho filed his candidacy on 11 May. Song's registration documents disclosed 17 prior criminal convictions.
On 19 April, the Progressive Party selected Kim Jae-yeon as its presidential candidate. She withdrew on 9 May, citing a need to primarily stop the PPP, and endorsed Lee Jae-myung.
After declaring his candidacy on 24 April, Jeon Kwang-hoon was found ineligible to run due to previous election law violations. Jeon's Liberal Unification Party subsequently nominated lawyer Koo Joo-wa as its presidential candidate on 9 May.
On 27 April, the Rebuilding Korea Party endorsed Lee Jae Myung of Democratic Party for the presidency.
Lee Nak-yon hinted at a campaign for president at the National Convention for Constitutional Revision hosted by the New Future Democratic Party. On 30 April, Lee's campaign advisor announced Lee's candidacy registration, effectively making his campaign official. However, on 10 May, Lee decided against a run, and did not endorse a candidate. On 27 May, Lee announced that he endorses Kim Moon-soo.
The Green Party, Justice Party, Labor Party, and several labor unions agreed to have an open primary and field candidates under the banner of Social Transformation. Kwon Yeong-guk won the primary and was nominated as the Democratic Labor Party's presidential candidate on 30 April.
Kwon pledged a complete "liquidation of insurrectionist forces" following the martial law crisis and Yoon's impeachment. He refused calls to unify his campaign with that of Lee Jae-myung, saying "independent progressive politics must continue." He promised to enact an anti-discrimination law, and would work to create an equal society without gaps. As a "street lawyer," Kwon was instrumental in the 2015 Supreme Court decision to legalize the Migrant Workers' Trade Union and promises to overhaul Korea's immigration system.
Kwon and the Democratic Labor Party qualified to appear in the televised presidential debates.
On 15 May, defeated candidate and former KCTU chairman Han Sang-gyun called for unity at a Busan press conference, saying, "This is the result of the desperation of not having a voice in an unequal world. We need to build on this power to create a decisive moment that will transform Korean society."
Campaign developments
Democratic Party candidate Lee Jae-myung faced legal troubles that could have barred him from being elected president. Under the Public Official Election Act, individuals fined more than 1 million won are disqualified from holding public office for five years, while those sentenced to imprisonment are disqualified for ten years. On 23 March, the Seoul High Court reversed a lower-court decision that had sentenced Lee to one year in prison with a two-year probation, restoring his eligibility. However, on 2 May, his eligibility was again called into question when the Supreme Court fast-tracked a typically months-long deliberation process, issuing a swift 10–2 decision that overturned his acquittal and remanded the case to the Seoul High Court for retrial. The retrial was initially set for 15 May but later postponed to 18 June, after Election Day.
The two leading conservative candidates Han Duck-soo and Kim Moon-soo were expected to consolidate their campaigns, with one stepping down to support the other. Han said he would not file his candidacy until a final agreement is reached with Kim on a "unified" candidate, while Kim claimed that the PPP and its chair Kwon Young-se had unilaterally moved to "unify" candidates without consulting him. Kim Jae-won, Chief of Staff for Kim Moon-soo, also stated that the party would likely move to strip Kim's nomination if he did not agree to "unify" with Han. After a Kim–Han meeting on 7 May failed to produce an agreement, PPP floor leader Kweon Seong-dong began a hunger strike to push coalescing around a single candidate.
On 8 May, Kim and Han held a televised public meeting in front of the National Assembly Proceeding Hall. They failed to reach an agreement, again. Afterward, they said a decision should be made the following day. Kim proposed a one-week campaign and survey to pick which candidate would lead a potential ticket. Kweon criticized Kim, calling him "pathetic" for wanting to remain in the race. Kim accused the PPP of trying to push him out after he was chosen as the official nominee less than a week earlier, questioning the purpose of the process. On 9 May, the Seoul Southern District Court dismissed Kim's request for an injunction, seeking to compel the PPP to recognize him as the nominee. That same day at a press conference, Kim rebuffed the idea of candidate unification, claiming he would have a better chance of winning the election if the PPP leadership did not "sabotage" him. In response, Kwon called Kim's stance disappointing and said, “A true leader must know how to let go.” Kim abruptly left in the middle of the press conference.
The PPP confirmed early on 10 May that they would outright cancel the nomination of Kim and instead nominate Han at an emergency convention the same day. Kim vowed countermeasures, criticized the breakdown of intra-party democracy, and announced that he would seek legal action against the party. Later that day, members of the PPP rejected a resolution designating Han as the party's candidate following an all-party vote, resulting in Kim's nomination being reinstated. Han issued an apology over the dispute in the PPP. On 11 May, Han officially ended his campaign, and pledged to support Kim's candidacy. He rejected an offer by Kim to serve as his campaign chair. On 17 May, Yoon Suk Yeol left the PPP and endorsed Kim Moon-soo.
On 29 May 2025, South Korean representatives of businesses with ties to the former Kaesong Industrial Complex held a press conference at the National Assembly, during which they read aloud what they claimed was a letter from American investor Jim Rogers endorsing Lee Jae-myung. However, Rogers has since denied issuing any such endorsement.
Debates
On 18 May, the first televised debate for the presidential election was held, with Kim Moon-soo, Kwon Yeong-guk, Lee Jun-seok and Lee Jae-myung in attendance. A second debate for candidates who did not qualify for the first was held on 19 May. As Koo Joo-wa dropped out that same day, the debate featured only Hwang Kyo-ahn and Song Jin-ho. A third debate on 23 May featured Lee Jae-myung, Kim Moon-soo, Lee Jun-seok and Kwon Yeong-guk.