S. Korean acting president, prime minister Han resigns

SEOUL -- South Korea's acting president and Prime Minister Han Duck-soo announced his resignation on Thursday in a televised address to the nation, amid wide expectations for his presidential run.

Han said that he decided to step down in order to do what he can and has to do at the time of crisis faced by the country, noting that unless the extreme politics are abandoned and the foundation for cooperation is established, division and conflict will be repeated no matter who will be in power.

He emphasized that he will go all the way to be the best for South Korea at this moment and in the future to the end.

With Han's resignation, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Choi Sang-mok will serve as acting president.

Han is widely predicted to announce his bid for the June 3 snap presidential election on Friday.

He has been one of the favored presidential hopefuls for conservative voters following the removal of former President Yoon Suk-yeol from office over his botched martial law imposition.

A recent survey showed Han garnered a support rate of 13 percent, surpassing approval scores of the conservative People Power Party's presidential contenders.

It was far below the 42 percent support for Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate of the majority liberal Democratic Party.

The result was based on a poll of 1,000 voters conducted from Monday to Wednesday. It had plus and minus 3.1 percentage points in margin of error with a 95-percent confidence level.