SEOUL, South Korea — The South Korean Parliament has voted to impeach President Park Geun-hye, which suspends her from office while the Constitutional Court decides whether to formally remove her. These are some of the contenders to replace her, and one who will take her place temporarily.
HWANG KYO-AHN, 59
Prime minister
As the No. 2 official in government, Mr. Hwang will serve as acting president while Ms. Park is suspended. A staunch defender of Ms. Park and perhaps the second least popular official in government, there is little chance he would be more than a caretaker until the court decides to reinstate Ms. Park or an election is held for her successor. A former prosecutor, he was first appointed by Ms. Park as her justice minister, a position he used to dismantle a small, left-wing party on charges of subscribing to North Korean ideology.
황교안-대선 전까지 대통령의 임무를 수행하겠지만, 사실상 차기 대권 후보로 보기는 어렵다.
현 정부에서 두 번째로 인기가 적은 정부 인사이기 때문이다. 황교안 국무총리는 과거 법무부 장관으로서 통합진보당 해산심판을 청구했고 결국 해산시켰다.
MOON JAE-IN, 63
Democratic Party leader
As the likely presidential candidate of the main opposition party, the liberal Mr. Moon tops opinion surveys of potential replacements for Ms. Park. As a student activist in the 1970s, Mr. Moon was jailed for opposing the dictatorship of Ms. Park’s father, President Park Chung-hee. He had been a friend and ally of President Roh Moo-hyun since the 1980s, when they worked together as human rights lawyers defending students and labor activists persecuted under the military dictatorship. When Mr. Roh became president, Mr. Moon became his chief of staff. Mr. Moon ran for president in 2012, losing narrowly to Ms. Park, which his supporters say was partly because of a clandestine smear campaign by the government’s main intelligence agency.
Mr. Moon supports the country’s alliance with Washington, but he has argued that it needs a more “balanced diplomacy” with the United States and China. His party has criticized the current approach on North Korea, saying sanctions alone will not end the North’s nuclear weapons program. Many of its members have opposed Ms. Park’s decision to deploy an American missile defense battery in South Korea. Mr. Moon has not said whether he would reverse the decision if he became president but has said it should be subject to parliamentary approval.
문재인-여론 조사에서 차기 대통령 후보 1순위를 차지하고 있는 후보이다. 과거 박정희 독재 정권에 맞서 싸우다 투옥됐던 이력이 있으며, 노무현 정부 때 참모 임무를 수행했다.
문재인은 미국과의 동맹을 지지하지만 미국과 중국 사이 균형 잡힌 외교가 필요하다고 보고 있다. 또한 그는 북한을 대하는 현 정부의 접근 방식을 비난한다. 문재인이 대통령에 당선될 경우
한국에 설치될 미사일 사드 배치를 철회할 가능성도 존재한다.
BAN KI-MOON, 72
United Nations secretary general
The departing secretary general is popular in South Korea and is widely expected to declare his presidential ambition after his term at the United Nations ends on Dec. 31. There has been speculation that one reason Ms. Park has refused to step down immediately is to give Mr. Ban, a conservative, time to prepare for an election while preventing a progressive like Mr. Moon from taking power. Mr. Ban was a career South Korean diplomat before winning the top United Nations post in 2007, a momentous event for South Koreans who saw it as an affirmation of the country’s rising stature. He is considered a supporter of the partnership with the United States but has not commented on specific South Korean policies. He is also untested in the cut-and-thrust world of electoral politics. Another obstacle: He has no party affiliation. He had been expected to join Ms. Park’s party, Saenuri, but its popularity has plunged in the wake of her scandal. He is now expected to form an alliance with some members of her party or another party, or he may start his own.
반기문-유엔 사무 총장 반기문은 한국에서 꽤 인기가 있으며, 12월 31일에 임기가 끝난 뒤 대통령 출마 선언을 할 것으로 모두가 예상해왔다. 반기문이 한국인 최초로 UN 사무총장이 됐을 때 한국인들은 이것이 한국의 위상을 확인한 것이라고 생각했다.
반기문의 약점은 소속 정당이 없다는 것이다. 본래 새누리당 소속으로 대선에 출마할 것으로 예상됐지만, 이번 스캔들로 새누리당의 인기가 급락한 뒤 반기문은 다른 당과 동맹 관계를 맺거나 새로운 정당을 창당해 대권에 도전할 것으로 전망되고 있다.
LEE JAE-MYEONG, 51
Mayor of Seongnam
A rising star among progressives, Mr. Lee calls himself the Bernie Sanders of South Korea. But he is more like President-elect Donald J. Trump in one respect: He uses Twitter, too. He has a huge audience there and has used his pointed comments to attack Ms. Park and her policies. He was one of the first major politicians to address the crowds of antigovernment demonstrators who have filled central Seoul on recent weekends. He says that Ms. Park “should be handcuffed” on criminal charges the moment she leaves office. Like the other progressives listed here, his positions on the approach to North Korea and missile defense are similar to Mr. Moon’s. Mr. Lee worked in a factory as a teenager and did not attend high school, but he taught himself, winning admission to a college and later passing the bar exam. Before running for mayor, he worked as a lawyer defending labor activists and political dissidents.
이재명-진보주의자 사이의 떠오르는 스타이다. 그는 자신을 버니 샌더스라고 부르지만 사실 그는 도널드 트럼프에 더 가깝다. 이재명은 SNS에 많은 팬을 가지고 있고, 트위터를 이용해 박 대통령을 공격하곤 했기 때문이다.
이재명은 과거 고등학교도 다니지 않았지만 스스로 공부해 변호사에 합격했으며, 노동 운동가들과 반체제 인사를 변호하는 일을 했다.
AHN CHEOL-SOO, 54
People’s Party leader
A millionaire software mogul who leads a small opposition party, Mr. Ahn became a political starfor his plain talk about equality and justice and his searing criticism of the existing political parties and big business. “Bill Gates wouldn’t have become Bill Gates if he were born in South Korea,” Mr. Ahn once said, accusing Samsung, Hyundai and other major corporations of creating “zoos” where they have shackled small entrepreneurs with slavelike contracts. Once considered a top contender for the 2012 election, he withdrew his candidacy, throwing his support behind Mr. Moon, with whom he has since parted ways. A medical doctor by training, Mr. Ahn made a fortune developing antivirus computer software. He says he wants to heal a country disillusioned with what he calls a corrupt and out-of-touch political and corporate elite.
안철수- 작은 야당 국민의당을 이끄는 안철수는 현재 정당과 대기업에 대한 비판으로 정치 스타가 됐다. 그는 삼성, 현대 등 한국 대기업이 작은 하청업체를 거느리며 '동물원'을 만든다고 비난했다. 그는 관료주의와 기업 엘리트주의로 부패한 나라를 치료하고 싶다고 밝혔다.
PARK WON-SOON, 60
Mayor of Seoul
As mayor of the capital, Mr. Park is considered the second most powerful elected official in South Korea after the president. A former human rights lawyer, he is seen as a leader of the civil society movement and founded the country’s most influential civil and political rights group. He has won many landmark legal cases, including South Korea’s first sexual harassment conviction. He also campaigned for the rights of so-called comfort women, Korean sex slaves who were lured or forced into working in brothels for the Japanese Army during World War II. A tireless critic of what he calls growing social and economic inequality, he has pulled no punches in attacking Ms. Park, supporting huge rallies against her. Last month, he showed up at a meeting of cabinet ministers and shouted at them to “choose between the people and the president.”