Ex-prosecutor general to announce his presidential bid soon: aide

A former South Korean top prosecutor plans to officially announce his presidential bid later this month, his spokesman said Tuesday.

Yoon Seok-youl, who has been a front-runner in opinion polls, will publicly “show the result” of his contemplation later in June or early July, Yoon‘s spokesman Lee Dong-hoon told Yonhap News Agency.

Lee said Yoon will decide whether to join the main opposition People Power Party after meeting various officials.

In the latest poll conducted by the Korea Society Opinion Institute from Friday to Saturday on 1,007 voters nationwide, 35.5 percent picked Yoon as their most favored candidate for next year’s presidential election, up 4.4 percentage points from a week earlier.

Gyeonggi Province Gov. Lee Jae-myung of the ruling Democratic Party (DP) came in second with 27.7 percent, followed by former Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon with 12.6 percent.

Yoon resigned in March, four months before his two-year tenure was set to end, in an apparent protest against President Moon Jae-in‘s drive to reform the prosecution service.

Moon once called Yoon “our top prosecutor” but their relationship soured as Yoon pressed ahead with investigations into scandals involving former Justice Minister Cho Kuk, a close confidant of Moon.

Yoon would be the first former top prosecutor to run for president in South Korea. (Yonhap)