Seoul, South Korea - South Korea - Former Labor Minister Kim Moon Soo won the presidential nomination for South Korea's major Conservative Party, facing a tough battle with the free lineup Lee Jae-Myung participated in the June 3 election.

Observers say King may try to align with other conservative forces, such as former Prime Minister Han Duck-Soo, to prevent a split in conservative votes to improve prospects to win a conservative victory against Lee.

In the party primary that ended on Saturday, Kim won 56.5% of the vote, beating his sole rival Han Dong-hyung, the party said in a televised announcement. Other competitors were eliminated in an earlier round.

"I will form a strong alliance with anyone to prevent a rule of Lee Mengmeng and his Democratic forces. I will promote this with the procedures and methods accepted by our people and members," King said in his victory speech.

Kim, 73, serves as governor and member of the National Assembly of South Korea's most populous province. Originally a pro-democracy and labor activist, King joined a Conservative Party in the 1990s.

The June 3 election was intended to find the successor to Conservative President Yoon Suk Yeol, a member of the PPP, who was impeached in early April and appointed from the case of martial law on December 3.

Kim Jong Il opposed parliament's impeachment against Yoon Won, despite saying he respected the Constitutional Court's ruling, which formally dismissed Yoon's presidency in early April.

Yoon's impeachment is the main source of disputes among the People's Power Party and a hot topic in the party's primary elections.

Kim's main contender in Saturday's party election, Han, had served as the meh attorney general. He led a reformer but minority faction, and he joined the liberal opposition, voted to overturn the Yuan martial law and later impeach him. Without the support of Han faction members, the opposition-led impulse motion could not pass the National Assembly, as the opposition approved it in eight-eighth of the two-thirds majority.

Lee is a favorite to win elections, but he has conducted five criminal trials on corruption and other charges. If Lee becomes president, these trials may cease because he will have presidential immunity for most criminal prosecutions.

Lee's campaign suffered setbacks as the Supreme Court recently decided to order a new trial on his election law offences. It is unclear whether he will face a court verdict ahead of the June 3 vote, but he may face a strong political offensive from his election rivals.