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South Korea Former PM Launches Presidential Bid

Han Duck-soo became acting president after Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment. Anthony WALLACE / AFP
Han Duck-soo became acting president after Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment. Anthony WALLACE / AFP
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South Korea Former PM Launches Presidential Bid

Han Duck-soo became acting president after Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment. Anthony WALLACE / AFP
Han Duck-soo became acting president after Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment. Anthony WALLACE / AFP

South Korea's former prime minister Han Duck-soo announced his bid for the presidency on Friday, joining the race in a snap election triggered by the impeachment of the ex-president.

The June 3 vote will decide who replaces impeached former president Yoon Suk Yeol, who was removed from office over his ill-fated declaration of martial law in December that sank South Korea into prolonged political turmoil.

Political instability in the country intensified Thursday after a retrial was ordered for a presidential frontrunner over alleged election law violations, and as two key government figures -- including Han -- resigned.

Han had hinted at a possible presidential bid when he resigned as acting president and prime minister on Thursday, suggesting that he was willing to "take on a greater responsibility".

"For the future of the Republic of Korea, a country I deeply love, and for all of us, I have decided to do what I can," Han said in a televised speech on Friday.

"I will do my utmost to be chosen by our people in this presidential election."

The former prime minister took over as the country's acting president after Yoon was impeached by parliament in December.

The 75-year-old career bureaucrat is expected to team up with Yoon's People Power Party to launch a unified conservative campaign against liberal frontrunner Lee Jae-myung.

Across both liberal and conservative governments, Han has held a range of senior roles, including finance minister, trade minister and the country's ambassador to the US.

Notably, Han has twice served as prime minister, first under late former president Roh Moo-hyun and more recently under Yoon.

"I have dedicated my life to serving on the front lines of economic development as a proud public servant of the Republic of Korea," Han said, pledging that he will tackle the ongoing crisis in trade involving Washington's tariffs.

He also vowed to amend the Constitution to shorten the presidential term.

South Korea's single five-year presidential term has long faced criticism for concentrating excessive power in one individual, with critics accusing it of lacking sufficient checks and balances.

Han's announcement comes a day after the country's highest court overturned a ruling that found frontrunner Lee not guilty of making false statements during a previous campaign, potentially scuppering his chances of running in the election next month.

On the same day, finance minister Choi Sang-mok, set to replace Han as acting president, stepped down as opposition lawmakers voted on his impeachment over alleged involvement in the martial law incident, among others.

The impeachment procedure was suspended after Choi's resignation.

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World

Israel Opposition Figure Makes U-Turn on Ultra-Orthodox Draft to Oust Netanyahu

Avigdor Liberman, then Israel's finance minister, speaks to members of the media in Jerusalem on September 11, 2022. (AFP)
Avigdor Liberman, then Israel's finance minister, speaks to members of the media in Jerusalem on September 11, 2022. (AFP)
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Israel Opposition Figure Makes U-Turn on Ultra-Orthodox Draft to Oust Netanyahu

Avigdor Liberman, then Israel's finance minister, speaks to members of the media in Jerusalem on September 11, 2022. (AFP)
Avigdor Liberman, then Israel's finance minister, speaks to members of the media in Jerusalem on September 11, 2022. (AFP)

A hardline figure in the Israeli opposition said Friday he would moderate longtime demands that ultra-Orthodox Jews serve in the military, seeking a coalition that can oust Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Neither Netanyahu nor opposition chief Gadi Eisenkot reached a majority in the October 27 election, with Israeli society highly polarized over Netanyahu and worn down by three years of war.

Eisenkot could form a coalition if he works with Israeli-Arabs, whose seat count soared on anger over Netanyahu's far-right government, but that prospect faces strong disagreement from opposition partner Avigdor Liberman, a onetime aide to Netanyahu who now sharply criticizes the prime minister but shares his hawkish views on the Palestinians.

Liberman said Friday he would not back down on rejecting an alliance with Israeli-Arabs but said the opposition should negotiate with ultra-Orthodox Jews, despite his years of heated denunciations of the community for avoiding military service.

Saying the most important goals were removing Netanyahu and avoiding new elections, Liberman said it was time to compromise and "understand that trying to have everything risks getting nothing".

"This also includes the issue of the conscription law," he said in a social media statement.

"This pains me, and I know it pains many others as well. But given the full range of challenges we face today, the national interest of the State of Israel and the Jewish people must take precedence over all other considerations."

Liberman, whose Yisrael Beiteinu party won seven seats, has long demanded an end to an exemption that allows religious students to avoid the military service required of nearly all other Israelis.

Liberman even put up campaign posters vowing to crack down on the "draft-dodgers". During an appearance earlier this year, he described ultra-Orthodox Jews as "anti-Jewish" for their demands.

Netanyahu, while himself personally secular, has long relied on the two main ultra-Orthodox parties, although they left his government -- without seeking to remove him -- after he stopped short of enshrining the draft exemption into law.

One of the parties, United Torah Judaism, declined Thursday to back Netanyahu in forming the next government during consultations with President Isaac Herzog, although it also did not back Eisenkot.

The two ultra-Orthodox parties together have 13 votes, which would give Eisenkot a narrow majority in parliament.

Herzog will announce Sunday who will have the first chance at forming a government -- presumably Eisenkot as he received more recommendations from parties.

Ultra-Orthodox Jews' exemption from military service has fueled widespread resentment among other Israelis, with reservists serving multiple tours in the wars Israel has been fighting since the October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas.

World

One Minor, One Young Adult Killed in French School Bus Accident

Representation photo: A firefighter sprays water on a burnt bus as unrest continues in Nanterre, Paris suburb, France, July 1, 2023. Yves Herman, Reuters
Representation photo: A firefighter sprays water on a burnt bus as unrest continues in Nanterre, Paris suburb, France, July 1, 2023. Yves Herman, Reuters
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One Minor, One Young Adult Killed in French School Bus Accident

Representation photo: A firefighter sprays water on a burnt bus as unrest continues in Nanterre, Paris suburb, France, July 1, 2023. Yves Herman, Reuters
Representation photo: A firefighter sprays water on a burnt bus as unrest continues in Nanterre, Paris suburb, France, July 1, 2023. Yves Herman, Reuters

A minor and a young adult were killed and 16 others injured when a bus veered off the road in eastern France on Friday, officials said.
The bus, which was travelling between Lyon and Bourg-en-Bresse, was carrying 43 passengers, including 15 minors, said prosecutors.

World

NATO Seeks ‘Just’ End to Ukraine War as Trump Touts Deal Involving Europe

A firefighter tries to extinguish a fire at a destroyed warehouse after a Russian drone attack in Sofiivska Borshchahivka, on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Nov. 5, 2026. (AP)
A firefighter tries to extinguish a fire at a destroyed warehouse after a Russian drone attack in Sofiivska Borshchahivka, on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Nov. 5, 2026. (AP)
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NATO Seeks ‘Just’ End to Ukraine War as Trump Touts Deal Involving Europe

A firefighter tries to extinguish a fire at a destroyed warehouse after a Russian drone attack in Sofiivska Borshchahivka, on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Nov. 5, 2026. (AP)
A firefighter tries to extinguish a fire at a destroyed warehouse after a Russian drone attack in Sofiivska Borshchahivka, on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Nov. 5, 2026. (AP)

Ukraine's allies are working for a "just and sustainable" end to the war ahead of US-mediated talks next week in Abu Dhabi, NATO said Friday, after US President Donald Trump touted a deal with Russia involving "all of Europe".

Talks in Brussels on Thursday involving NATO, US, Ukrainian and European officials "built on productive discussions in Miami and Oslo and sought to advance a just and sustainable end to the war in Ukraine", an alliance spokeswoman said.

Trump on Thursday predicted a "very big" deal with Russia involving not only the Ukraine war but "all of Europe," in remarks that will fuel fears on the continent of a pivot towards the Kremlin.

Jared Kushner, the president's envoy and son-in-law, said the United States was working on "a broader European security architecture that can help establish the conditions for lasting peace".

Kushner, who participated in the Brussels talks via videolink, said that Washington's "objective is to develop practical arrangements that address the security concerns of all sides".

"We are exploring five principal goals: permanent security consultations, reliable crisis communications, greater military transparency, reciprocal measures to reduce escalation risks, and an enduring framework for long-term European security and stability," he posted online.

He insisted that "any arrangements must fully respect the sovereignty, territorial integrity, and independent decision-making of every nation" and said NATO would "remain central to European collective defense".

The US push will rattle Washington's European allies, who have long rejected Moscow's desire to rewrite the European security architecture.

Before launching the war in Ukraine in 2022, the Kremlin delivered an ultimatum to NATO which included a demand that the alliance's troops be withdrawn from eastern Europe.

That was rejected by the Western military alliance.

Europe has meanwhile been seeking to play a bigger role in the US-led push to end the fighting.

Kushner said that Washington will "consult closely with our European partners on the sidelines" of the Abu Dhabi talks and "if progress is made, aim to move toward a broader multilateral format with their direct participation".