South Korea's presidential election tightened into a close two-horse race Friday as software mogul Ahn Cheol-Soo withdrew to endorse the main opposition party candidate against conservative favourite Park Geun-Hye. "I am giving up my presidential candidacy," Ahn told a hastily-arranged press briefing, following weeks of often acrimonious merger talks with Democratic United Party (DUP) candidate Moon Jae-In.
"From now on, Moon Jae-in is the single liberal candidate," Ahn said, calling on supporters of his popular independent campaign to lead Asia's fourth-largest economy to vote for Moon in the December 19 ballot.