The former ruling party had earlier decided to allow prominent figures to skip preliminary races and join the final primary at the last moment, apparently taking the acting president into consideration.

The rule revision came after Hwang announced his decision not to run in the presidential election slated for May 9.

So far, nine politicians from the former ruling party have publicly announced their ambitions. South Gyeongsang Gov. Hong Joon-pyo also plans to declare his candidacy later this week.

The party has been waiting for the acting president to declare his presidential ambitions, as Hwang was virtually the only conservative figure that held significant presence in opinion polls.

According to the poll conducted Saturday and Sunday by the Korea Research Center, commissioned by Yonhap News Agency and KBS, Hwang ranked third with an approval rating of 9.1 percent. (Yonhap)