Ruling Saenuri Party's presidential candidate Park Geun-hye said Tuesday she will visit the grave of late President Roh Moo-hyun as part of her efforts to promote national unity.

After paying a visit to the National Cemetery in southern Seoul, the 60-year-old lawmaker said she planned to pay her respects to Roh in the afternoon because he represented a significant part of South Korea society.

The late Roh, who served as president from 2003 through 2008, has become an icon of the opposition camp since his suicide in May 2009. Moon Jae-in, the front-runner in the main opposition Democratic United Party's presidential primary race, was chief of staff to the late Roh while he was in office.

Park, who became the first woman in South Korea's history to win a presidential nomination from a major political party on Monday, did not say if she would meet relatives of Roh who live near the tomb located in Gimhae, 450 kilometers southeast of Seoul.

Emerging from a landslide victory in Saenuri's presidential primary, she stressed the need for unity that transcends the country's social divides ahead of the presidential race slated for Dec. 19.

The late Roh, a progressive politician and former civil rights lawyer, took hiw own life after being under investigation over allegations that his wife and son received money from a local businessman.

During her visit to the National Cemetery, Park paid her respects to former President Rhee Syngman, her late father and former president Park Chung-hee and former President Kim Dae-jung.

The visit to the cemetery marks her first official activity after she won her party's presidential nomination. (Yonhap News)