South Korea acting leader Han resigns ahead of expected presidential run

May 2, 2025 , 01:11 PM

(May 2, 2025, REUTERS) – South Korea’s acting leader Han Duck-soo resigned on Thursday May 1, ahead of an expected run for president in the country’s snap election on June 3.

Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok is seen standing in as acting president as required by law.

Han was serving his second stint as the head of cabinet, when he became acting president on December 14 after then-President Yoon Suk Yeol was impeached by parliament for his short-lived move to impose martial law.

Two weeks later, Han himself was impeached after being accused of aiding Yoon in the martial law declaration and his powers suspended. His impeachment was overturned by the Constitutional Court on March 24 restoring his powers and he had been due to serve as acting leader until the snap election.’

In a country sharply divided by partisan rhetoric, Han has been a rare example of an official who has sought to stay out of the political fray, serving in senior positions under five presidents, both conservative and liberal.

When stepping in as acting president, he faced the challenge of keeping government functioning through its gravest political crisis in decades, while also tackling threats from nuclear-armed neighbour North Korea, and a slowing economy at home.

Han has also had to lead efforts to tackle the threat of higher tariffs for exports to the United States under Donald Trump’s presidency.

The acting president has expressed willingness to reach a deal, saying the country will not fight back against Washington as it owes the U.S. for its recovery from the 1950-1953 Korean War.

South Korea and the United States recently agreed to craft a trade package aimed at removing new U.S. tariffs before the pause on reciprocal tariffs is lifted in July.

Still, he has faced pushback from the main liberal Democratic Party, whose candidate Lee Jae-myung is favoured to win the election, amid accusations that talks are being rushed under the conservatives for political gain.

Han’s roles have ranged from prime minister, finance minister and trade minister to presidential secretary for policy co-ordination, besides being ambassador to the United States and the OECD and heading up think-tanks and organisations.

With a Harvard doctorate in economics, Han’s expertise in the economy, trade and diplomacy as well as a reputation for rationality, a moderate demeanour and hard work had made him a regular go-to man in South Korean politics.

Han has experience working with South Korea’s key ally the United States, having been deeply involved in the process of signing the U.S.-South Korea Free Trade Agreement.

(Production: Angie Teo, Feline Lim, Yeonbin Park, Hyunyoung Yi)

Privacy Statement

Our Privacy Commitment

TV5 Network Inc. values and respects your privacy. We are committed to safeguarding your personal data in compliance with Republic Act No. 10173 or the Data Privacy Act of 2012 and its implementing rules and regulations.

We have developed a Privacy Policy that adopts and observes appropriate standards for personal data protection. While our Privacy Policy sets out the general principles governing the collection, use, and disclosure of our users’ personal information, our Privacy Commitment seeks to inform you more about TV5’s privacy practices.

Why do we collect your personal information (as applicable)?

We may collect and maintain basic information about you as site user of TV5 sites for the following purposes:

To deliver news and updates on current events, sports, esports and entertainment;
To share livestreams of news and sports events;
To understand our viewers’ needs and preferences;
To meet legal and regulatory requirements; and
To perform other processes or disclosures that are required to comply with pertinent laws, rules, or regulations.

Where do we get your personal information?

There are several ways we collect your personal information.

Information that you personally provided.

Most of the personal information we have are those that you have provided us when you:
- Register to our programs or services;
- Inquired, filed a complaint or requested for our services;
- Took part in our research and surveys; and/or
- Became our Partner, Vendor, Contractor or Supplier.

Information we collect during your engagement with us

We also collect information as you use our products and services, like:
- Viewing our websites;
- Activities that are being tracked by our website cookies;
- Calling our hotline;
- Using our apps, websites, and self-service channels and portals; and/or
- Joining our promos, prize raffles, or rewards and loyalty programs.

Information we collect from other sources

Other means of collection of information may be through:
- Our market research initiatives;
- When you visit and use our websites and mobile application; and
- Subsidiaries, affiliates, and third-party business partners to whom you have given consent to share your information to us.

When do we disclose personal information?

There may be instances when we are required to share the information you provided us. In such cases, we ensure that your personal information will be disclosed on a confidential manner, through secure channels and in compliance with the Data Privacy Act and other privacy laws.

We will never share, rent, or sell your personal information to third parties outside of TV5 except in special cases where you have given consent, and in cases described in our privacy policy.

In some instances, we may be required to disclose your personal information to our agents, subsidiaries, affiliates, business partners and other third-party agencies and service providers as part of our regular business operations and for the provision of our programs and services. This means we might share your information with our service providers, contractors, and professional advisers who help us provide our services.

How we protect your personal information

The integrity, confidentiality, and security of your information is important to us. We have implemented technical, organizational, and physical security measures that are designed to protect your information from unauthorized or fraudulent access, alteration, disclosure, misuse, and other unlawful activities.

We also put in effect the following safeguards:

We keep and protect your information using a secured server behind a firewall, encryption and security controls;
We keep your information only for as long as it is necessary for us to (a) provide the products and services that you avail from us, (b) for our legitimate business purposes, (c) to comply with pertinent laws, and (d) for special cases that will require the exercise or defense of legal claims;
We limit the access to your information only to qualified and authorized personnel who are trained to handle your information with strict confidentiality;
We undergo regular audits and rigorous testing of our infrastructure’s security protocols to ensure your data is always protected;
We promptly notify you and the National Privacy Commission when sensitive personal information that may, under the circumstances, be used to enable identity fraud are reasonably believed to have been acquired by an unauthorized person; and
We let you update your information securely to keep our records accurate.

TV5 will not collect, use, or disclose your personal information for any purpose other than the purpose that you may have given your consent for.

What are your choices?

We make sure that we have your consent to continue to collect, use, and disclose your personal information for the purposes that we have identified. We want you to know that you may object or withdraw your consent and/or edit your consent preferences at any time.

If you wish to have access to the personal information in our custody or if you think that the personal information you provided is incomplete, or otherwise inaccurate, you may get in touch with our Data Protection Officer through the contact details provided below. In some instances, we may request for supporting documents or proof before we effect requested changes.

Data Protection Officer
TV5 Network Inc.
Reliance corner Sheridan Streets
Mandaluyong City
tv5dataprivacy@tv5.com.ph

What happens when there are changes in our Policy?

From time to time, we may update our privacy policy and practices to comply with changes in applicable laws and regulatory requirements, adapt to new technologies and protocols, and align with the best practices of the industry.

You will be provided notices if the changes are significant and, if we are required by law, we will obtain your updated consent.