Acting president likely to resign Thursday to run for president

Acting President Han Duck-soo is likely to resign Thursday before announcing his bid for the June 3 presidential election the following day, according to government and political sources.

Han has been a favorite among conservatives to challenge Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate of the liberal Democratic Party, in the election triggered by the impeachment of former President Yoon Suk Yeol.

His resignation appears likely on Thursday afternoon, as he has public engagements scheduled for the morning, the sources in government and the former ruling bloc said Wednesday. A formal declaration of his presidential bid is expected to come Friday.

The declaration will reportedly be accompanied by a message to the nation, in which he will lay out his vision to achieve national unity and stop extreme confrontation between rival political camps from holding back the nation’s economic and social development.

Possible measures reportedly under consideration are amending the Constitution to shorten the president’s five-year term and allow the sharing of power, and forming a Cabinet with members of both sides of the political aisle.

A Han candidacy is certain to trigger merger talks with the conservative People Power Party (PPP), whose presidential candidate will be chosen Saturday.

The two final contenders — former PPP leader Han Dong-hoon and former Labor Minister Kim Moon-soo — have both expressed an openness to merging candidacies with the acting president.

As a public official, Han faces a May 4 deadline to resign in order to run for election.

Meanwhile, the PPP has been considering various deadlines by which the merger must be finalized in order to maximize its chances in the June 3 election.

To start, May 7 is the deadline by which the National Election Commission must order printed materials for the race. May 11 is the deadline for candidate registration with the commission, while May 25 is the date that ballot printing begins.