Park grilled over corruption allegations

yer promised to “start a new history with the Korean people” after securing a total of 57 percent of the votes in nationwide primaries for his party.

“This presidential election is not a showdown between conservatives and liberals but a choice between justice and injustice,” Moon said in his acceptance speech.

Moon was narrowly beaten in the 2012 presidential election by Park and his party has been out of power for 10 years.

But this election looks set to give him a strong chance, with opinion polls suggesting he has a commanding lead.

A Realmeter survey published Monday put him on 34.9 percent, with his nearest rival, former software tycoon Ahn Cheol-soo, trailing far behind at 18.7 percent.

In December, Moon said that if elected, he was willing to visit Pyongyang ahead of the US, the South’s security guarantor.

He also vowed to recognize Pyongyang’s top leader as his dialogue partner.

In an interview with The New York Times, Moon called the alliance with Washington “a pillar of our diplomacy” but said Seoul should learn to “say ‘No’ to the Americans”.

A US missile defense system is being deployed to the ROK, infuriating Asian neighbors.

Moon has been ambivalent about the issue, saying it needed to be carefully handled as it would bring the ROK “both gains and losses”.