Opposition presidential candidates engaged in a tense tug of war to take a better position in expected negotiations to unify their candidacy that could start around Nov. 10.
The main opposition Democratic United Party’s nominee Rep. Moon Jae-in used his weekend campaign to counter independent rival Ahn Cheol-soo’s policy to curtail political parties and the National Assembly.
He also began realigning the party’s election organizations to maximize his advantage as a party-based candidate over Ahn.
“To scale down politics and parties would not be the right direction to achieve political development,” Rep. Moon said Sunday in a ceremony to kick off his regional campaign office in Sejong City.
“Instead, we have to reform the current political system and reinforce the role of political parties.”
The candidate thus expressed his disapproval over the political platform of Ahn, who recently called for the reduction of parliamentary seats and state subsidies for political parties, and the abolishment of the central party system.
Also, Rep. Moon is quickening the establishment of regional election campaign bodies in major cities and boosting ties with influential party figures.
Last week, he met with former party chiefs Sohn Hak-kyu and Rep. Chung Sye-kyun, as well as former South Gyeongsang Governor Kim Doo-kwan ― a move expected to promote his campaigns in Gyeonggi, Jeolla and Gyeongsang provinces respectively.
Meanwhile, Ahn is still distancing himself from the candidacy merger talks, perhaps worried that an early start to negotiations would put him at a disadvantage.
Ahn has been focusing on developing campaign platforms and building campaign organizations to compete the powerful DUP machine in upcoming unification
The former software entrepreneur and professor has recently been more assertive over the proposed alliance.
“If the people suggest the process of the merger, I will win and complete the race,” he said last week.
It is speculated that the candidate is putting off the discussion with Moon until after Nov. 10, when he is scheduled to announce his major campaign pledges.
“The DUP has been asked to reform itself and is now to prove its sincerity and display visible results,” said Cho Kuk, law professor at Seoul National University.
“Candidate Ahn, on the other hand, is free from such burdens.”
The DUP is concerned that the two sides will not have enough time to address a full range of issues related to their alliance, thus forced to rush into the merger immediately before the candidacy registration on Nov. 25-26.
“In order to form a true alliance and to gain the people’s trust, we need sufficient time to discuss and exchange visions on policies,” said an official in Moon’s election camp on Sunday.
The main opposition Democratic United Party’s nominee Rep. Moon Jae-in used his weekend campaign to counter independent rival Ahn Cheol-soo’s policy to curtail political parties and the National Assembly.
He also began realigning the party’s election organizations to maximize his advantage as a party-based candidate over Ahn.
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| Democratic United Party presidential candidate Moon Jae-in gestures in a ceremony to launch a regional campaign office in Sejong City on Sunday. (Yonhap News) |
“To scale down politics and parties would not be the right direction to achieve political development,” Rep. Moon said Sunday in a ceremony to kick off his regional campaign office in Sejong City.
“Instead, we have to reform the current political system and reinforce the role of political parties.”
The candidate thus expressed his disapproval over the political platform of Ahn, who recently called for the reduction of parliamentary seats and state subsidies for political parties, and the abolishment of the central party system.
Also, Rep. Moon is quickening the establishment of regional election campaign bodies in major cities and boosting ties with influential party figures.
Last week, he met with former party chiefs Sohn Hak-kyu and Rep. Chung Sye-kyun, as well as former South Gyeongsang Governor Kim Doo-kwan ― a move expected to promote his campaigns in Gyeonggi, Jeolla and Gyeongsang provinces respectively.
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| Independent presidential candidate Ahn Cheol-soo calls for the extension of voting hours in a rally in Seoul on Sunday. (Yonhap News) |
Meanwhile, Ahn is still distancing himself from the candidacy merger talks, perhaps worried that an early start to negotiations would put him at a disadvantage.
Ahn has been focusing on developing campaign platforms and building campaign organizations to compete the powerful DUP machine in upcoming unification
The former software entrepreneur and professor has recently been more assertive over the proposed alliance.
“If the people suggest the process of the merger, I will win and complete the race,” he said last week.
It is speculated that the candidate is putting off the discussion with Moon until after Nov. 10, when he is scheduled to announce his major campaign pledges.
“The DUP has been asked to reform itself and is now to prove its sincerity and display visible results,” said Cho Kuk, law professor at Seoul National University.
“Candidate Ahn, on the other hand, is free from such burdens.”
The DUP is concerned that the two sides will not have enough time to address a full range of issues related to their alliance, thus forced to rush into the merger immediately before the candidacy registration on Nov. 25-26.
“In order to form a true alliance and to gain the people’s trust, we need sufficient time to discuss and exchange visions on policies,” said an official in Moon’s election camp on Sunday.
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