Saenuri gearing up to attack DUP candidate
The ruling Saenuri Party is gearing up to attack both the main opposition party candidate and an entrepreneur-turned-professor who is expected to announce his bid for the country's top elected office, as part of its broader campaign strategy ahead of the presidential election.
Sources said they will point out that Rep. Moon Jae-in, the presidential hopeful for the Democratic United Party (DUP), is irrevocably tied to the failures of the Roh Moo-hyun administration, while Ahn Cheol-soo needs to be screened for inconsistencies in what he has said in public and his past life that has raised questions about his ethics and his clean image.
Moon served as chief of staff to late president Roh and won the DUP's candidacy on the strength of factions loyal to the late chief executive, such as party chairman Lee Hae-chan.
Roh is now an icon for South Korea's progressives, but when he stepped down in 2008, he was not very popular having alienated many of his supporters and for perceived economic policy failures.
"In regards to Moon there is a need to carefully check his role while serving Roh as a presidential aide, and his possible involvement in trying to save a savings bank in 2003 that has since closed its doors," a party source said, without going into details.
He added that the human rights lawyer-turned-politician's past record of defending a corrupt politician in court will be examined so the public can draw a clearer picture of the contender.
In the case of Ahn, who is expected to announce his decision to run for president on Wednesday, the focus will be to bring to light his past actions that have been scrutinized by the media in recent weeks.
Allegations of irregularities in the issuing of corporate bonds and claims of bribe-giving during the time of AhnLab's growth period have drawn public attention to Ahn's past. AhnLab founded by Ahn is currently the country's largest anti-virus software firm.
Recent polls showed that Ahn is trailing Moon as the candidate of choice to represent the opposition camp in the presidential race.
In the past Ahn was favored over the DUP contender.
Reflecting this, party officials said that while there is a need to check various allegations raised against Moon and Ahn, the real focal point of Saenuri's screening will be to show problems associated with the opposition camp's move to form a single candidate before the Dec. 19 poll.
Saenuri's Secretary General Suh Byung-soo pointed out that speculation about creating a joint government is a "political ploy" to overcome the lack of experience in actually running the country by both Moon and Ahn, and other personal weaknesses.
He pointed out that under the country's election law, it is illegal to bribe with money or offer a position to a rival candidate to persuade him or her not to run for office.
Many in the DUP, including Moon, have hinted that if a single opposition candidate can be agreed upon, the winner should take office as president, while the loser can be tapped as prime minister in the new government. (Yonhap)