South Korea's former prime minister and acting president Han Duck-soo ended a short, ill-fated attempt to win the conservative party's presidential nomination on Sunday after days of internecine disputes just days out from the election.

South Korea’s embattled conservative party has canceled then reinstated the presidential candidacy of Kim Moon Soo within hours, after a failed attempt to replace him with former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo.

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea's conservatives dropped their presidential candidate on Saturday and reopened a process to pick a new nominee as the country's former prime minister joined the party to challenge a liberal frontrunner less than four weeks before the election.