SK CONSERVATIVES DUMP PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE

Han throws hat in the ring

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South Korea's conservative party dropped its presidential candidate against his will on Saturday, beginning a process to instead nominate outsider and former prime minister Han Duck-soo less than a month before the election.

The June 3 presidential poll will decide who replaces Yoon Suk-yeol, who was removed from office over his declaration of martial law in December, sending South Korea into a period of prolonged political turmoil.

Mr Yoon's People Power Party (PPP) had initially chosen Kim Moon-soo, a former labour minister who won the party's primary last week, but it announced yesterday that his nomination was cancelled.