Acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn on Wednesday announced his decision not to run in the presidential election slated for May 9, dealing a blow to the conservative bloc on the lookout for viable contenders to take on more popular liberal rivals.

During a Cabinet meeting, Hwang made the announcement, ending the months-long speculation over his presidential ambitions that emerged after he took over as acting president in December following former President Park Geun-hye's impeachment over a corruption scandal.

"To stabilize state affairs and fairly administer the presidential election, I've reached the judgment that it is inappropriate for me to run in the election," Hwang said. "From now onwards, I would like to focus on the tremendous responsibility as the acting president."

Hwang then reiterated his vow to manage the election process in a strict and fair manner.

During Wednesday's meeting, the Cabinet formally decided to hold the upcoming presidential election on May 9 and designate it as a public holiday.

Last Friday, the Constitutional Court upheld the parliamentary impeachment of Park. By law, the country has to elect a new president within two months of the verdict.

Despite his noncommittal stance, Hwang's name was floated as a potential standard-bearer of the conservative camp suffering from a dearth of prominent figures to prevail over liberal contenders such as front-runner Moon Jae-in, a former leader of the Democratic Party.

In various recent opinion polls, Hwang was way ahead of other conservative presidential hopefuls, fueling speculation that he could run for the presidency on the ticket of a conservative party, most likely the former ruling Liberty Korea Party. (Yonhap)