Former Labour Minister Kim Moon Soo won the presidential nomination of South Korea's main conservative party, facing an uphill battle against liberal front-runner Lee Jae-myung for the June 3 election.
Observers say Kim will likely try to align with other conservative forces, such as former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, to prevent a split in conservative votes in a bid to boost prospects for a conservative win against Lee.
In a party primary that ended Saturday, Kim won 56.5 per cent of the votes cast, beating his sole competitor, Han Dong-hun, the party said in a televised announcement. Other contenders have been eliminated in earlier rounds.
I'll form a strong alliance with anyone to prevent a rule by Lee Jae-myung and his Democratic Party forces. I'll push for that in a procedure and method that our people and members accept, and I'll ultimately win, Kim said in his victory speech.
Kim, 73, served as a governor of South Korea's most populous Gyeonggi province and a member of the