South Korea's conservative ruling Saenuri party is set to elect a new leadership at a convention Tuesday as it gears up for the December presidential poll.

Nine candidates are vying for the chairmanship, with Hwang Woo- yea, a five-term lawmaker, leading opinion polls. Four of the runner-ups will be elected members of the party's decision-making Supreme Council.

Hwang is backed by a faction loyal to former chairwoman Park Geun-hye, considered the strongest presidential contender on the conservative ticket.

The daughter of former military strongman Park Chung-hee, Hwang is credited with leading the scandal-ridden ruling party to an upset victory in parliamentary elections last month.

Some 9,000 party delegates will cast their ballots at the convention to be held in Goyang city, north of Seoul. Fourteen percent of the party's 200,000-strong electoral college cast votes earlier this week.