Moon, Ahn trade barbs as rivalry returns

A war of words has flared up between the two leading presidential hopefuls, liberal Moon Jae-in and centrist Ahn Cheol-soo, as the race begins to heat up with five weeks to go until the May 9 election.

Sparking debate was Ahn of the People’s Party, who vowed Friday to set up a committee in charge of amnesty for figures including government officials and conglomerate CEOs if he is elected the 19th president.

Asked by reporters about the possibility of granting amnesty to jailed former President Park Geun-hye, the politician said that the matter would be “up to the decision of the envisioned amnesty committee, if there is a demand from citizens.”

Ahn explained that his pledge for the committee establishment is meant to prevent the president from abusing his or her authority, enhance transparency in amnesty decisions and reinforce the rule of law.

The 55-year-old politician has seen his approval ratings jump by more than 5 percentage points over the past week to reach 17-19 percent. Set to win his party’s presidential nomination in a landslide, Ahn has emerged as the anti-Moon candidate who has the best chance at victory in a one-on-one match with the liberal front-runner.

Apparently mindful of Ahn’s rise, Moon’s camp opened a rare attack on Ahn, issuing a statement criticizing his remarks.

“Ahn has raised the possibility of granting pardon to ex-President Park. His intention is suspicious as Park’s court trial is yet to launch,” said Moon’s senior spokesman Park Kwang-on in the statement.

Ahn responded by writing on his twitter account that his comments on amnesty were “confirmation that (I) would not abuse the amnesty rights for political heavyweights and business leaders.”

He added that it is inappropriate to discuss Park’s case given she has not even been indicted yet, let alone tried.

Despite Ahn’s rebuttal, Moon’s camp has not stopped the verbal volleys.

Moon’s deputy spokesman Kwon Hyuk-ki argued that Ahn’s previous remarks have caused doubts about his stance on the ousted President Park, highlighting the candidate’s previous remarks about deciding not to “participate in (anti-Park) candlelight rallies anymore” after Park was sanctioned by the parliament, pending an impeachment trial at the Constitutional Court.

On Saturday, Kim Chul-keun, a spokesman for Ahn, hit back, pointing out that Moon had in the past supported an honorable departure of then-President Park, not a parliamentary impeachment, when the presidential scandal erupted late last year.

The spokesman also urged Moon’s camp not to distort facts, saying the liberal block has become “unnerved” by Ahn’s speedy chase of Moon in approval ratings.

Meanwhile, two presidential hopefuls -- Lee Jae-myung of the Democratic Party of Korea and Sim Sang-jung of the progressive Justice Party -- vowed never to pardon Park if elected.

By Kim Yon-se ()