Lee Myung-bak, a former businessman and Seoul mayor, became the leading contender to take South Korea's presidency after narrowly winning the nomination of the opposition Grand National party yesterday.

Mr Lee beatPark Keun-hye, daughter of a former autocratic ruler, by just 1.5 percentage points but is well ahead in opinion polls for the presidential race. He enjoys 40 per cent support while his ruling party opponents are garnering no more than 5 per cent.