Ahn Cheol-soo, the popular liberal independent who dropped out of the presidential race last week, could meet with his former rival Moon Jae-in of the main opposition Democratic United Party (DUP) as early as this week to discuss ways to jointly defeat the ruling party in the Dec. 19 election, officials from both sides said Monday.

Ahn, a 50-year-old software mogul-turned-politician, withdrew his candidacy Friday amid a deadlock in talks to select either him or Moon as the unified opposition contender against Park Geun-hye of the ruling Saenuri Party.

Without merging candidacies, the two liberals would have split the opposition vote and handed a victory to Park, according to public opinion polls.

Following Ahn's withdrawal, multiple opinion surveys over the weekend showed a tight race between the liberal and conservative camps, with the 59-year-old Moon falling behind the 60-year-old Park within the margin of error.

Officials of Moon's camp hinted they have been reaching out to their counterparts in Ahn's former camp to arrange a meeting between the current and former liberal candidates and set the stage for the two to join forces.

"We would like (the meeting) to take place as soon as possible, but at the same time, we don't want to put any pressure on Ahn and would like to treat him with respect," said an official of Moon's camp, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Officials of Ahn's former camp said they expect the former medical doctor and professor to convey his support for Moon in order to achieve a transfer of power, despite the ill-spirit caused by the failed merger talks.

"Since neither side can put it off (much longer), I expect them to meet sometime this week," said a key official of Ahn's former camp.

(Yonhap News)