Ahn’s surge in polls poses threat to front-runner Moon

The presidential race appears to be narrowing down to a two-way contest between Moon Jae-in and Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo, despite nonmainstream hopefuls readying their camps.

A survey conducted by Realmeter on Wednesday showed that Moon’s lead over Ahn in a six-way competition has more than halved within the past week.

In the survey, Moon received 41.3 percent of support and Ahn 34.5 percent, with the remainder divided among conservative candidates Hong Joon-pyo and Rep. Yoo Seong-min, the Justice Party’s Sim Sang-jeung and independent Kim Chong-in. In comparison, a Realmeter survey conducted at the end of March gave Moon a 16.2 percentage point lead over Ahn.

The latest survey also showed that the gap between Moon and Ahn falls to 3.5 percentage points when the other candidates are removed from the race.

While Moon still has a small lead, polls indicate that his support base may be destabilizing.

The survey showed that the Jeolla provinces favor Ahn over Moon. The region had served as the home ground for various forms of the Democratic Party, but the tradition was recently broken when Ahn splintered off with Rep. Park Jie-won and others with roots in the region to found the People’s Party. Ahn was shown to have 48.2 percent support in the region, while Moon took 44.1 percent.

In an apparent attempt to rally support in the region, Moon took his campaign to Gwangju, and South Jeolla’s Gwangyang and Mokpo on Thursday.

“(Ahn) should first answer if he is fit to speak of a power change, (I have doubts) about that,” Moon said citing the support Ahn is apparently receiving from conservatives.

Speaking after a meeting with the families of the victims of the Sewol ferry disaster in Mokpo, Moon also questioned Ahn’s stance on the demonstrations that called for former President Park Geun-hye’s impeachment. Unlike Moon and other liberal politicians, Ahn stayed away from the protests.

“Before Ahn talks of debating me, he should show the public that he is prepared.”

As for Ahn, he chose to take part in the first conference since his confirmation as the People’s Party candidate.

At the event, Ahn ruled out forming a united front with other candidates and parties.

“The time of dividing up sides and old ways of thinking is gone. True integration is achieved when the people come together. There needs to be a president who is supported by both liberal and conservative voters,” Ahn said. He also ruled out cooperating with the Bareun Party’s Yoo, saying that he should take responsibility for contributing to former President Park Geun-hye’s rise.

Ahn’s rapid rise is thought to have been fueled by conservative voters choosing him over Hong and Yoo, whose combined ratings fall far short of that of Ahn.

Polls place Hong’s ratings at around 10 percent at most, while that of Yoo ranges at below 4 percent.

Despite the apparent gap with the leaders, Hong appears unfazed.

“In the end, I could be in a two-way race (between himself and Moon),” Hong said, during his visit to Gwangju.

Hong played down Ahn and Moon’s ratings, saying that their competition for the Jeolla provinces’ support was meaningless and that his experience of living in the region would set him apart from the Jeolla provinces’ long-standing opposition to his party.

“(Jeolla voters) may dislike the Liberty Korea Party, but they would not dislike me. Which other candidate has been a citizen of Gwangju?” Hong said, adding that he was a resident of the city and North Jeolla Province for about 22 months in the 1990s and 1980s.

By Choi He-suk ()