South Korea: Ex-PM Han says he supports PPP candidate Kim, will cast early vote

Seoul, May 28 South Korean former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said on Wednesday that he supports People Power Party (PPP) presidential candidate Kim Moon-soo and plans to cast an early vote this week.

Han wrote the message on his Facebook page a day before two-day early voting for the June 3 presidential election kicks off.

"With every person I have met, I have earnestly asked that they cheer for candidate Kim with the same heart with which they supported me," he said, referring to his brief presidential campaign that ended with the PPP's selection of Kim as its final contender.

"As I cheer for and support candidate Kim, I plan to go to a nearby polling station early tomorrow morning," he said.

Han served as prime minister during the administration of ousted former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and took over as acting leader when Yoon was impeached and subsequently removed from office over his botched imposition of martial law in December.

"The Republic of Korea is standing at a crossroads between halting here and moving forward," Han wrote, voicing his concerns about a future in which liberal Democratic Party candidate Lee Jae-myung is president.

"If those who seek to reverse the rule of law and shake up the system gain even more power than they already have, both economic prosperity and national unity will be difficult," he said.

Meanwhile, on May 27, South Korean former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo and former Deputy Prime Minister Choi Sang-mok had been banned from leaving the country as suspects in the alleged insurrection case related to former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol's botched martial law attempt.

The exit ban was reportedly imposed on Han and Choi around the middle of this month.

The police's special investigation unit handling the high-profile case called in Han, Choi and former Interior Minister Lee Sang-min on Monday for questioning for about 10 hours about their alleged involvement in Yoon's martial law declaration on December 3 last year. Lee was slapped with the exit ban earlier in December.

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