Seoul mayor drops presidential bid

Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon, who has been cited as one of the potential candidates for South Korea's next presidential election, on Thursday said that he decided to withdraw from the race.

"Although I am withdrawing my candidacy, I will give my all for the change of government to reflect the people's desire as a member of the Democratic Party," Park said in a statement.

"I will focus on citizens. As the mayor of Seoul, I plan to make it the world's best global city, which is safe and where citizens are happy," Park added.

Park's aides said the decision was attributed to weak poll numbers, Yonhap News Agency reported.

According to a poll conducted by RealMeter last week, Park's approval rating came to 3.4 per cent, hovering far below other liberal contenders.

Moon Jae-in, former head of the main opposition, led the survey at 29.1 per cent. Seongnam Mayor Lee Jae-myun from the same party stood at 10.2 per cent.

The election is set to take place in December.

--IANS

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