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Ahn withdraws his offer to field a coalition, vows to run to the finish
By Nam Hyun-woo
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However, the chance for Yoon and Ahn unifying their presidential campaign has become bleak, as Ahn said in a press conference on Sunday that he will pursue his "own way" in the race, to reverse his current position. Earlier, he proposed that they sit down to field a single candidate via a public poll.
According to the survey conducted by Hankook Research on request of Hankook Ilbo, a sister paper of The Korea Times, 48 percent of respondents said they would vote for Yoon if he was chosen as the standard bearer of a PPP-PP coalition. The support for Yoon is 11.3 percentage points higher than that of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) candidate Lee Jae-myung (36.7 percent).
If Ahn is chosen was the presidential candidate of the hypothetical coalition, 47.6 percent of respondents said they would vote for Ahn, distancing Lee who earned 32.9 percent with 14.7 percentage points. The survey was of 1,000 adults on Feb. 18 and 19. Further details are available on the websites of Hankook Research and the National Election Survey Deliberation Commission.
This shows a unified candidacy between Yoon and Ahn would pave the way for an easier election victory for the opposition bloc, given Yoon was leading other candidates within the margin of error in a four-way race between Lee, Yoon, Ahn and Justice Party candidate Sim Sang-jung.
The debate over a coalition between Yoon and Ahn had been the subject of heated debate in the presidential race until it peaked last week when Ahn proposed that the PPP and his party field a unified candidate through a public poll.
However, Yoon and the PPP have been lukewarm to Ahn's proposal. Recent polls show that Yoon's ratings have been rebounding.
In the Hankook Ilbo survey, 56.7 percent of respondents said Yoon has a competitive edge as the single candidate of the conservative bloc, while that of Ahn remained at 31.4 percent.
When asked which candidate is more suitable for the single candidate representing the opposition block, 44.5 percent said Ahn and 43.1 percent said Yoon in these latest results.
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| People's Party presidential candidate Ahn Cheol-soo speaks during a press conference at the National Assembly on Yeouido, Seoul, Sunday. Joint Press Corps |
Ironically, the poll results, were released on the day when Ahn withdrew his offer to field a single candidacy.
During a news conference on Sunday, Ahn blamed Yoon and the PPP for the breakdown of talks for a single candidacy.
"From now, I will walk my own way," Ahn said. "I gave Yoon a week to consider my proposal, asking him to respond to my request in person. However, various officials of the main opposition party interrupted and distorted my offer, as if their comments are Yoon's."
Ahn added he will not accept even if Yoon makes a new offer for a unified candidacy, citing time limits.
"We only have about two weeks before the election," Ahn said. "There is not enough time for doing working level debates and candidate meetings all over again."
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