Steps quicken toward unifying opposition candidacy for Dec. poll
Popular professor Ahn Cheol-soo will announce on Wednesday whether he will run in the presidential election as the main opposition Democratic United Party quickens its step to form an advantageous alliance for its presidential candidate Rep. Moon Jae-in.
“Ahn will explain to the people the views that he has gathered so far and how he has come to the decision,” said Yoo Min-young, Ahn’s spokesman. His news conference will be held at 3 p.m. at the Salvation Army’s art center in Seoul.
Ahn’s schedule was released a day after Moon, the former presidential chief of staff, won his presidential nomination, beating his three rivals and overcoming the worsened partisan strife over the primary rules.
Ahn will be breaking his silence on his presidential ambition after months of occupying a neck-and-neck lead in polls with the ruling Saenuri Party presidential candidate Rep. Park Geun-hye.
At the much-awaited event, Ahn is also expected to introduce the members of his campaign team and his visions for state administration.
If Ahn runs, an alliance between Moon and Ahn is expected to be the game changer of the race currently dominated by the Saenuri’s former chairwoman who enjoys the unwavering support of conservative voters.
As Ahn’s announcement draws near, the main opposition party is scurrying to underscore a need for the DUP-led collaboration between the liberal candidates.
“A single candidacy (between Moon and Ahn) should be conducted in a way that could captivate the people and achieve victory in the presidential election,” said Noh Young-min, co-chief of Moon’s election campaign team in a radio interview Monday.
Commenting that the two reaching a compromise after a constructive competition would be a “significantly convincing” method, Noh indicated a need for Ahn to yield to Moon down the road.
“From Ahn’s perspective centered on novelty, ethicality and the importance of new politics, I am sure that Ahn views Moon as someone that he could gladly support even if he does not become the ultimate candidate,” Noh said.
Ahn has been enjoying a wide and sturdy popularity among younger voters tired of the conventional political parties.
The software guru-turned-professor has indicated solidarity with the main opposition party through his progressively inclined views on social and economic issues, and notifying last week that he will declare his position after the DUP primary ends.
Both Moon and Ahn are new to the political scene, with each having started to make a name for themselves among the progressive voters just around a year ago. Both have publicly said they had not initially wished to become president. Moon, in his primary speeches, repeatedly said, “I had never dreamt about becoming a president.”
Ahn, in his visit to Hongseong, South Chungcheong Province, last month, told residents, “It is not my goal to become president.”
Through such statements, the duo distanced themselves from established politics, indicating that their political debuts were in line with the people’s desire for a new approach.
Moon launched his official campaign Monday by participating in a debate on tackling unemployment, which is one of the top points in his campaign agenda.
“Because unemployment is a task that cannot be tackled by policies alone, our concession and compromise are needed unconditionally,” Moon said. Earlier, he paid his respects at the gravesites of the war veterans and former President Kim Dae-jung at the Seoul National Cemetery.
Moon’s camp also pledged to create an election committee that would be a “melting pot” of all those who go beyond faction, age, region and class and wish to change the administration and the politics.
The next two weeks are considered crucial for Moon to hold onto the election tide that has turned to his favor until the Chuseok holidays beginning Sept. 29, when the public opinions are likely to start shaping up.
Latest polls showed Moon maintaining his lead against Ahn in a hypothetical one-on-one race.
Moon’s support rating reached 41.9 percent, up 4.5 percentage points from a week before, in the second week of September in a survey on 3,750 respondents by pollster Realmeter. Ahn suffered a 3.1 percentage point decline to 36.9 percent.
“It is more realistic for Ahn to join (the DUP) and reform the system and change the political reality. It appears it would be difficult for (Ahn) to create a new party to run in the presidential election as that might seem as if he is turning a blind eye on reality,” said Rep. Woo Yoon-keun, director of Moon’s campaign headquarters, in another radio interview.
Woo also expressed hope that Moon and Ahn would agree on a unified candidacy in the near future.
“If it is decided too late, there will not be enough time for us to compete with the ruling party candidate on policies. (The unified candidacy) should be made sometime around October at the latest,” Woo said.
Ahn’s side, in the meantime, remained secretive about what his announcement will be.
Observers say Ahn is most likely to declare his presidential bid by listing the reasons and background behind his decision. It is also likely that Ahn will be accompanied by key supporters from all walks of life in an attempt to demonstrate his organizational support base, which is considered his weakest point, they said.
koreaherald@heraldcorp.com
