Two presidential hopefuls of the ruling Democratic Party(DP), Chung Sye-kyun and Lee Kwang-jae, have announced that they will merge their camps with Lee backing Chung to run in next year's presidential election.

Chung and Lee made the announcement on Monday morning at the National Assembly. 

Rep. Lee, a three-term lawmaker vowed to assist Chung with his presidential race, stressing that the DP should win in the election and stay in power as the ruling party so that the country can move forward with greater welfare and peace. 

Chung, a former prime minister, said that he and Lee decided to join hands to ensure the DP wins the election. 

Insiders speculate that the move aims to counter Gyeonggi Governor Lee Jae-myung, the front-runner among DP contenders, and that it may signal the beginning of other similar mergers.