Yoon is out: Who could be in line to run for president?

President Yoon Suk Yeol was removed from the nation's highest office on Friday, paving the way for an early presidential election. South Korea now must elect a new president within 60 days of the incumbent president's removal.

The Democratic Party of Korea has a clear, strong front-runner: Rep. Lee Jae-myung, the party's chair, who narrowly lost to Yoon in 2022. For the People Power Party, the lineup of candidates is still uncertain and complicated.

Lee Jae-myung is practically unrivaled as the Democratic Party's presidential front-runner. Despite his legal woes, Lee has maintained a firm grip on the party. Lee was defeated by Yoon in the 2022 by a narrow margin of 0.7 percent. Now a second-term lawmaker, Lee was governor of Gyeonggi Province and mayor of the province's Seongnam before he ran for president the first time. In the last presidential election, Lee's main policy pledge was a universal basic income, which proposes guaranteeing income to all households.

A former minister in the Democratic Party's previous Moon Jae-in administration, Kim Boo-kyum is a name continually mentioned in discussions of potential presidential contenders. Kim made waves by winning a seat in the National Assembly to represent his conservative home turf of Daegu in 2016 as a Democratic Party candidate.

Kim Kyung-soo, one of the most prominent pro-Moon figures, has come back into public view after keeping a low profile since he was pardoned by Yoon in August last year. Kim, the former governor of South Gyeongsang Province, was serving a jail sentence for trying to sway public opinion online in favor of Moon in the 2017 presidential election.

Kim Dong-yeon, the governor of Gyeonggi Province, has touted himself as the "candidate without legal liabilities," in an apparent jab at Democratic Party leader Lee, who is a defendant in five criminal cases.

Kim Moon-soo, Yoon's labor minister, has emerged as the favorite among the president's supporters. Kim has consistently topped polls among conservatives as a potential presidential candidate since January, after Yoon was impeached by the Assembly in December. The labor minister had refrained from acknowledging the possibility of an early election taking place, saying only that he supported Yoon's reinstatement.

Another pro-Yoon front-runner rumored to enter the race is Rep. Na Kyung-won, a star politician who has recently been making routine appearances at conservative rallies. The five-time lawmaker and former judge became the People Power Party's first female floor leader in 2018.

Won Hee-ryong, who was Yoon's land and transport minister, is also expected to launch a bid for the presidency. Won rivaled Yoon in the 2022 presidential primaries and then later joined his campaign, eventually becoming an inaugural Cabinet member.

Hong Joon-pyo, the mayor of traditional conservative stronghold Daegu, has referred to himself as a "presidential contender" since January. Hong was previously the party's candidate in the 2017 election, held after former President Park Geun-hye was impeached and removed from office.

Han Dong-hoon, who stepped down as the People Power Party's chair in the aftermath of Yoon's impeachment, is one of the leading non-Yoon contenders. Han was Yoon's justice minister and officially made his first foray into politics as the ruling party's leader in December 2023. Once part of the president's inner circle, Han became the face of the party's non-Yoon faction during the 2024 general election campaign, reportedly clashing with Yoon over candidate nominations. Although Han was the overwhelmingly popular choice to lead the People Power Party at the party's convention in July last year, his popularity with the conservative base has waned since his public split with Yoon.

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon hinted at presidential ambitions when he replied that the Constitutional Court upholding the Assembly's impeachment of Yoon was "highly likely," in response to a question asking if he would consider running. Oh is the first person to serve a fourth term as the mayor of Seoul.

Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo has avoided any ambiguity in saying he would enter the primaries if Yoon was removed. He is credited as having aided Yoon's victory in 2022, when he dropped out of the race as a third-party candidate and endorsed the conservative candidate. Before Ahn stepped foot into politics, he was a computer entrepreneur and a professor of medicine.

Rep. Lee Jun-seok of the minor conservative Reform Party, who led Yoon's presidential campaign as then-leader of the People Power Party, was the first lawmaker to officially launch a presidential bid. Lee was ousted as the leader of the People Power Party in July 2022 over a scandal involving allegations he accepted sexual favors from a business figure in 2013 — charges for which prosecutors dropped. Lee went on to found the Reform Party ahead of the 2024 general election and won an Assembly seat as the party's candidate.

Lee Nak-yon, who was prime minister under the Democratic Party's former President Moon, formed the New Future Democratic Party after disagreements with the pro-Lee Jae-myung faction. The former prime minister has been dialing up attacks on the main opposition party's chair over his several criminal charges.