South Korea's ruling People Power Party says it has narrowed down the list of contenders to become its presidential nominee to two people. They are former employment and labor minister Kim Moon-soo and the former leader of the party, Han Dong-hoon.



The PPP plans to officially select its presidential candidate on Saturday.



South Korea will hold its presidential election on June 3. The vote follows former President Yoon Suk-yeol's removal from office in April. He was stripped of the presidency after the Constitutional Court upheld his impeachment for declaring martial law in December.



The two contenders will go through a debate session on Wednesday, among other things, in their bid for the party's nomination.



On Sunday, the country's main opposition Democratic Party of Korea named former leader Lee Jae-myung as its candidate.



Lee has been leading the polls in support ratings, far ahead of others from the ruling PPP. But he is facing charges of violating the country's election law. The Supreme Court announced it will rule on the case, in which a high court found him not guilty, on Thursday.



Some conservatives say they would like to see Prime Minister Han Duck-soo separately stand in the presidential election independently from the PPP.



Some South Korean media say Han may step down as early as the last half of this week to announce his candidacy.