BEIJING (Yonhap) -- South Gyeongsang Province Governor Kim Doo-gwan said Saturday that he plans to formally announce his intention to run in the upcoming presidential race next month.

In a meeting with reporters in Beijing, Kim also said that he will step down from his post, once he makes his bid for the country's top executive post.

Koreans will go to the polls on Dec. 19 to pick their next president with political parties expected to select their respective candidates in the next few months.

The governor, who is a member of the main opposition Democratic United Party (DUP), is in the Chinese capital to attract business investments. He has been widely expected to run for the presidency.

"I plan to listen to advice of DUP leaders later this month and wrap up provincial administrative affairs before announcing my bid around July 10," he said.

Kim, meanwhile, claimed that he did not plan to engage in a mud-slinging campaign and wanted to be judged by policy.

He stressed that the opposition party will have to pick a candidate who has the best chance of taking on the ruling Saenuri Party's former chief Park Geun-hye, who has a clear lead in the polls at present.

Besides Kim, Sohn Hak-kyu, a special advisor for the DUP, and Rep. Moon Jae-in have already announced their intention to run for the main opposition party's presidential ticket.

The DUP has yet to determine when or how the party's presidential candidate will be selected.