Veteran politician Rep. Lee Jae-oh of the ruling Saenuri Party hinted Wednesday at throwing his hat into the ring for the Dec. 19 presidential election.

“I have no intention to play ‘kingmaker’ this time. I am thinking of running for the presidential election,” Lee was quoted as saying in the JoongAng Ilbo.

Adding that he will formalize his bid around the party’s national convention on May 15, Lee said he will start touring the country to assess public sentiment until early next month.

Lee will be joining a handful of other potential candidates from the Saenuri Party, including frontrunner Park Geun-hye, Gyeonggi Gov. Kim Moon-soo and Rep. Chung Mong-joon. As Park enjoys commanding political clout reinforced by the April 11 general election win, the race within the party is likely to be competitive, observers said.

Lee, 67, will become a fifth-term lawmaker in the incoming 19th National Assembly after his narrow win against Chun Ho-sun, a former spokesman for the late President Roh Moo-hyun, in the constituency of Eunpyeong-gu, Seoul.

Born in Gangwon Province, Lee was a former student activist, human rights advocate, and teacher before he officially entered politics by joining the New Korea Party, the precursor to the Saenuri Party, in 1996.

Lee earned the nickname “kingmaker” after successfully supporting President Lee Myung-bak’s win in the 2007 presidential election.

He took a backseat from the political scene after the April 27 by-elections debacle last year.

The race for the presidential election is likely to gain speed around July and August, when most of the potential candidates are expected to make their bids official.

By Lee Joo-hee (jhl@heraldcorp.com)