Liberal candidates focus on N. Korea reconciliation, Jeolla support

Opposition candidates on Thursday sought to consolidate support among liberal-leaning voters, with one cultivating voters who want closer inter-Korean ties and the other focusing on the Jeolla region.

Rep. Moon Jae-in, the standard bearer for the main opposition Democratic United Party (DUP), met with entrepreneurs who run factories in the Kaesong industrial complex in North Korea.

At the talks, the 59-year-old stressed the importance of the complex located just north of the demilitarized zone as a starting point for his key South-North economic alliance program. The program aims to gradually merge the economies of the two countries before full fledged unification takes place.

The contender said that if elected, he will restart expansion of the industrial complex and increase support for South Korean businesses there that have been affected by the cooling of relations under the conservative Lee Myung-bak administration.

The lawmaker, who won his party's presidential primary on Sept. 16, has already pledged to hold an inter-Korean summit meeting in 2013, and follow through on cooperative policies pledged under the liberal Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun administrations. Moon was the chief of staff to late President Roh.

Political watchers said Moon's move to highlight his credentials to carry on the torch of inter-Korean reconciliation could secure him support from liberals and progressives.

This action could also give the hopeful an edge in possible negotiations to pick a single candidate for the liberal camp in the coming weeks.

Almost all polls have shown that only a single candidate has a chance of winning the presidential election against the ruling Saenuri Party hopeful Park Geun-hye. A three-way-race that includes independent candidate Ahn Cheol-soo invariably results in Park taking the presidency because she has the solid backing of conservatives.

Ahn, the founder of AhnLab, the country's largest anti-virus software firm, meanwhile, toured the Jeolla region to drum up support from voters who have in the past been staunch supporters of liberal candidates.

The visit is also aimed at checking on the rise in popularity of Moon in the region.

The candidate, who is ahead in the polls vis-a-vis Moon, held talks with owners of small and medium enterprises and young entrepreneurs who want to start their own businesses someday.

In addition, he delivered a speech at Chosun University in Gwangju, 330 kilometers south of Seoul, to highlight the role of youths in the 21st century.

Ahn said at the seminar that if he is elected he will strive to cut all college tuitions by half starting next year, and complete the process before the end of his five year term.

Related to the visits and meetings by Moon and Ahn, political pundits said the two are likely moving to strengthen their positions as they compete to see who is best qualified to represent the opposition in the presidential election.

Polls showed Ahn ahead as the candidate of choice for the opposition camp, but the gap has fallen from 10-15 percent last month to 4-7 percent in recent tallies.

"Because Moon and Ahn are in a tight race and are watching the movement of polls, it may not be until late October before actual negotiations on a single candidacy can take place," an election source said.

Dumun Political Strategy Institute director Lee Cheol-hee said if the two candidates want to join forces, talks should not be allowed to drag on for a long time and should be concluded by early November at the latest. (Yonhap)