Right-wing lawyer drops Seoul mayoral bid

A right-wing lawyer said Wednesday that he has decided to pull out of the Seoul mayor race due to his lackluster approval rating and conflicts over his campaign vision among supporters. Lee Seog-yeon had been considered as a potential contender against an independent front-runner in the liberal bloc, Park Won-soon, as the two lawyers had similar backgrounds of leading the nation's major civic organizations. Though the 57-year-old Lee had received offers by the ruling Grand National Party (GNP) to join the party primary, Lee said last week he would run without any party affiliation. But he failed to draw more support than single-digit approval ratings in recent polls.