Ahn Cheol-soo Declares Presidential Candidacy Calling for Change
Ruling and Opposition Parties with Presidential Lineups Must Begin Candidate Unification
[Asia Economy reporters Naju-seok and Geum Bo-ryeong] Ahn Cheol-soo, leader of the People’s Party, officially announced his candidacy for the 20th presidential election, shifting the election landscape toward a multi-candidate race. Discussions on unification during the remaining four months of the election period are expected to become the core issue of the presidential race.
Ahn Cheol-soo, leader of the People’s Party, is holding a declaration ceremony for his candidacy in the 20th presidential election in front of the fountain at the National Assembly lawn plaza on the 1st. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@
On the morning of the 1st at 10 a.m., Ahn held a press conference in front of the fountain at the National Assembly lawn plaza and officially declared his candidacy, saying, “I truly want to revive the Republic of Korea.” He sharply criticized the ruling and opposition presidential candidates. Ahn said, “The people call it the ‘Nom Nom Nom election,’ but they worry because there are only bad guys, strange guys, and ugly guys,” adding, “The ruling party candidate shamelessly spreads lies after designing the real estate corruption cartel’s crimes and sharing astronomical illegal profits, while opposition candidates fail to present a vision for a new era and instead plunge the people into despair with premodern superstitious controversies and verbal abuse competitions.”
While Ahn criticizes ‘deep-rooted evils’ and calls for a ‘shake-up,’ the People Power Party side views his entry as linked to the word ‘unification.’ Although it depends on who is officially nominated as the People Power Party’s presidential candidate on the 5th, calls for opposition candidate unification are strong. In a radio interview, People Power Party lawmaker Hong Joon-pyo said, “Like the past DJP (Kim Dae-jung and Kim Jong-pil) coalition, forces can unite to create a joint government,” and added, “To bring in moderate-oriented people, Ahn is indispensable.” Former lawmakers Yoo Seung-min and Won Hee-ryong, former governor of Jeju Province, also indicated that unification with Ahn is a key battleground in the presidential election. The overwhelming victory in the Seoul mayoral by-election in April this year also proves the usefulness of candidate unification.
However, after months of merger talks ended in discord and collapse, both sides inevitably need to reshape their strategies. The emotional resentment between People Power Party leader Lee Jun-seok and Ahn has already been publicly exposed. After the party’s Supreme Council meeting that day, Lee briefly told reporters, “I wish him luck.” Moreover, Kim Jong-in, former emergency committee chairman of the People Power Party, who is likely to take on the role of election campaign committee chairman once the presidential election system is fully underway, has also had conflicts with Ahn.
The key issue is how close the two-party race between Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party’s presidential candidate, and the People Power Party candidate will be, and how much Ahn, who calls for a ‘shake-up,’ can raise his support rate.
Unification between former Deputy Prime Minister Kim Dong-yeon and Justice Party presidential candidate Sim Sang-jung is also a matter of interest. If the election becomes a neck-and-neck race, demands for a ‘love call’ to former Deputy Prime Minister Kim are expected to increase more than ever. Having maintained distance so far, Kim now holds three options: to complete the race, or to side with the ruling or opposition party.
For the Justice Party, which has faced pressure from the so-called lesser-evil theory that “we must choose the lesser evil instead of the worst,” whether to run independently in this election is attracting attention. Although Sim mentioned the party’s ‘responsible coalition era,’ he recently denied the possibility of unification. Regarding the previous day’s mention of unification by candidate Lee, he harshly criticized, “The shameless two-party politics force the choice of the lesser evil and show lingering attachment to unification.” Moreover, the Justice Party’s experience of ‘completing the race’ in the last presidential election and the strained relationship between the Democratic Party and the Justice Party in the 21st National Assembly are factors that darken the possibility of unification.
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