TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - South Korea is holding a presidential election after the Constitutional Court removed Yoon Suk Yeol on June 3, 2025. According to the constitution, South Korea must hold a vote within 60 days if the presidential seat is vacant.
The South Korean Constitutional Court dismissed Yoon for unilaterally declaring a military emergency on December 3, 2024. This action was deemed to violate state duties and mobilize the military to intervene in the parliamentary process.
As reported by Al Jazeera, South Korea is a multi-party democracy with a presidential system. The election is held to select the president and members of the national assembly. The president is directly elected by the people for a five-year term and cannot be re-elected.
Meanwhile, the national assembly consists of 300 members elected every four years. Of this number, 253 seats are elected through the first-past-the-post system, while the remaining 47 seats are distributed proportionally based on party votes.
In presidential elections, the system used is plurality voting - meaning the candidate with the most votes will win, without requiring a second round. This system has resulted in tight elections, as seen in 2022 when Yoon Suk Yeol only narrowly defeated his rival, Lee Jae-myung from the Democratic Party by 0.73 percent.
This election features three main candidates, including Lee Jae Myung from the Democratic Party, Kim Moon Soo from the People Power Party, and Lee Jun Seok from the New Reform Party.
Other candidates such as Ahn Cheol-soo, Oh Se-hoon, and Hong Joon-pyo have not shown significant electoral strength, and Han Duck-soo chose to withdraw from the nomination after losing internal party support.
As reported by Al Jazeera, South Korean residents living abroad have used their voting rights earlier, and early voting within the country took place on Thursday and Friday. The two main candidates participated in early voting, attracting a large number of voters.
According to the National Election Commission of South Korea, around 44.4 million people out of a total population of 52 million are eligible to vote. On the day of the election, which is also a national holiday, polling stations are open from 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. local time (10:00 p.m. GMT to 11:00 a.m. GMT the following day).
Vote counting will begin immediately after the polling stations (TS) are closed. Election results are usually known on the same evening or early the next day. The candidate who receives the most votes will be declared the winner, even if they do not receive more than 50 percent of the votes.
Sita Planasari also contributed to the writing of this article.
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