The office of President Lee Myung-bak offered congratulations to Rep. Park Geun-hye on Monday after she was elected the ruling Saenuri Party's candidate for December's presidential vote.
Park won 86.3 percent of the vote to win the nomination.
"We congratulate her on her election as a presidential candidate," presidential spokesman Park Jeong-ha said. "We hope she will lead the election (campaign) with vision and policy so as to give hope to the people."
Park was Lee's biggest rival in the ruling party's primary ahead of the 2007 election. The intense rivalry had strained their relations so badly that the party suffered serious factional division.
Lee's term ends in February and he is barred by the Constitution from seeking reelection. (Yonhap)