South Korea’s former PM Han drops presidential bid, ending rift among conservatives

SEOUL - South Korea’s former prime minister and acting president Han Duck-soo ended a short, ill-fated attempt to win the conservative party’s presidential nomination on May 11 after a number of internecine disputes just days out from the election.

Rival Kim Moon-soo was chosen as the nominee for the People Power Party (PPP) after party members voted on May 10 to retain him over Mr Han, whose late entry into the race derailed the consensus over its candidate for the June 3 presidential vote. Mr Han on May 11 said he “humbly accepts everything” and hopes Mr Kim wins the snap election, which was triggered by the impeachment of the country’s former president.

Mr Kim formally registered as a PPP candidate on the morning of May 11, and is now South Korea's conservative hopeful against front runner Lee Jae-myung from the opposition Democratic Party.

Mr Han and Mr Kim struggled for unity in the past week and had held a series of failed talks to discuss how to unite their conservative campaigns to avoid splitting the vote. Mr Lee has been a clear front runner to replace conservative former president Yoon Suk Yeol, who was removed from office in April for violating his duties when he declared a short-lived martial law last December.

Mr Kim, who was selected as the conservatives’ candidate at a party convention a week ago, resisted pressure from the party to step aside in favour of the more popular Mr Han, who had declined to participate in the nomination process while he was still serving as prime minister. REUTERS