SOUTH KOREA: Presidential election holds May 9

South Korea will hold a presidential election on May 9 to replace impeached leader Park Geun-hye, who was dismissed last Friday over a corruption scandal, the Yonhap news agency has reported. Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn, who has also been acting president since December, said earlier he would not run in the election. Hwang became acting […]

South Korea will hold a presidential election on May 9 to replace impeached leader Park Geun-hye, who was dismissed last Friday over a corruption scandal, the Yonhap news agency has reported.
Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn, who has also been acting president since December, said earlier he would not run in the election.
Hwang became acting president when parliament impeached Park in December and later emerged in opinion polls as a top conservative candidate, though he had never declared an intention to run.
Prosecutors said on Wednesday that they planned to summon and question Park next week.
Park lost her presidential immunity from prosecution after the Constitutional Court ruled on Friday to formally end her rule over allegations she colluded with a longtime confidante to extort money from businesses and allowed her to pull government strings from the shadows.
Prosecutors said they told Park’s lawyer they would summon her next Tuesday as a suspect. No further details were provided.