South Korea's conservative People Power Party on Saturday picked former labor minister Kim Moon-soo as its candidate for the June 3 presidential election, which was called after the removal of Yoon Suk Yeol over his declaration of martial law.

Kim will face liberal Democratic Party candidate Lee Jae-myung, who has led each of the declared conservative candidates by large double-digit margins in polls.

Kim, 73, who was a labor activist in his university days but later became a hard-line conservative, served as labor minister under Yoon and has pledged to implement business-friendly policies if elected.