How do I merge records when encountering the “cannot merge person records, protected by surviving_record_fk matching person_pk” error message?

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This error is encountered when the Surviving Record field on the Other tab of one or all of the person records to be merged is populated. This field protects the record from any automatic or manual merges being performed.

To merge these records, clear this field on all person records being merged and process the merge as needed.