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| Ahn Cheol-soo |
Ahn Cheol-soo is obviously charting out his political future, falling short of giving a full endorsement to Moon Jae-in.
Meanwhile, desperately seeking to boost his standing, the main opposition Democratic United Party's (DUP) candidate suggested a runoff vote, only three weeks ahead of the Dec. 19 presidential election.
Ahn's spokesman Yoo Min-young indicated Wednesday that the software millionaire, who dropped his bid at the last stage of talks aimed at unifying candidacies with Moon, had not clarified his position regarding the DUP candidate.
"I will decide what to do not in the capacity of an individual but from the viewpoint of my supporters," Yoo quoted Ahn as saying during a lunch Wednesday with his aides.
Yoo didn't say whether this meant endorsing Moon.
Ahn left Seoul again for a rest, Yoo said.
His indecision continued with reports speculating that he was disappointed with Moon for his aggressive pursuit of the presidency shown in their televised debate.
Meanwhile, Moon broached the idea of the runoff ballot, although it failed to gain immediate traction.
"I will adopt the run-off voting system so that people can select the best candidates for the (final) election," Moon, 59, said Tuesday during the first day of the official campaign in downtown Seoul.
An official of the National Election Commission said the request has yet to be reviewed.
The system would require the two candidates with the most votes on Dec. 19 to compete in a second and final round — but only if neither were able to gain more than half the total number of votes in the first round.
Currently, the candidate with the highest number of votes is declared the winner regardless of the percentage of votes he or she wins. Seven contenders are currently in the running.
Moon's announcement came after a number of public opinion polls showed a tight two-way race between him and Park Geun-hye of the ruling Saenuri Party.
Moon is gaining on Park because he has sought to consolidate support from liberals including high-profile figures such as Sim Sang-jung of the minor opposition Progressive Justice Party (PJP).
Sim, who folded her presidential bid Sunday to form an alliance with Moon, advocated the two-round system.
Watchers say the system raises the chance of unexpected results in the first round, should the process advance, because the candidate could form an alliance with another contender.
Under the scenario, Moon stands to benefit from an endorsement by Lee Jung-hee of the minor, left-wing Unified Progressive Party (UPP), who has proposed collaborative efforts with the DUP standard bearer.
Moon's plan comes after his struggle to merge his candidacy with popular independent Ahn Cheol-soo, who abruptly pulled of the race Friday, failed. The bombshell announcement resulted in a significant number of undecided voters whose support Moon desperately needs.
"We comprehensively reviewed the run-off voting system, because it was deemed a measure that could merge the candidacies (of all liberal contenders) harmoniously, reflecting the people's rights and democracy," said Kim Hyun, Moon's spokesman.
