For single candidacy, it is toss-up between 2
.jpg?w=728)
By Chung Min-uck
A new survey estimated a close race between Rep. Moon Jae-in, the main opposition Democratic United Party’s (DUP) presidential candidate, and independent Ahn Cheol-soo in a hypothetical head-to-head matchup.
The liberal presidential hopefuls are possibly seeking to unite their candidacy before the Dec. 19 election to increase their chances of defeating Rep. Park Geun-hye, the ruling Saenuri Party’s standard bearer.
Opinion polls are being talked about as one of the methods in choosing the single candidate representing the liberal camp.
In the latest survey jointly conducted by The Korea Times and pollster Hankook Research on Monday, 40 percent of respondents favored Ahn when asked who should become the unified liberal candidate among the two. Moon received 38.6 percent trailing within the margin of error. Respondents remaining undecided or refusing to answer the specific question accounted for 21.3 percent.
The survey was carried out by telephone on 1,000 adult men and women across the country selected through random digit dialing. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.1 percent at a confidence level of 95 percent.
The DUP candidate’s rating increased by 2.2 percent compared to a previous survey conducted on Oct. 2. Ahn’s rating fell 1 percent.
“As the election draws closer, people are starting to question whether a president unaffiliated with a political party can properly handle state affairs,” said Kim Chun-seok, a manager at Hankook Research who organized the survey. “On the other hand, DUP supporters have been gathering their forces behind Moon after he was chosen as the standard bearer for the party. These two trends are reflected in the poll.”
By age, the survey showed that people in their 20s mostly showed support to the independent candidate, whereas the older generation backed Moon.
In terms of region, Ahn came on strong in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province, whereas Moon was favored in Busan, Ulsan and South Gyeongsang Province.
In Gwangju and the Jeolla region, the DUP’s home turf, the two candidates were in a tight match within the margin of error.
Experts say voters there have recently turned their back on Moon following his latest remarks favoring his hometown Busan over the DUP’s political stronghold.
Meanwhile, negotiations for the liberal merger are beginning to take shape after the independent candidate said he was “not opposed” to the idea of picking a single candidate to represent the liberal camp in the December election.
Earlier polls have shown that Moon and Ahn will lose a three-way race against Saenuri Party presidential candidate Park Geun-hye.
The specific schedule for the candidate unification is yet to be revealed.
“As of now, it is hard to predict who will become the final candidate representing the two sides,” said Kim. “However, I am sure they will unite their candidacy since the idea has already won support from the public and important figures on the liberal side.”
As of Wednesday, the two sides are still trying to iron out their differences on how and when to best pick a single candidate.
Woo Sang-ho, head of Moon’s public relations office, said in a radio interview, Wednesday “the method of selecting a single candidate doesn’t matter. What is more important is to come up with a single candidate as soon as possible.”
Moon allegedly wants to finalize the alliance issue before Nov. 26, the registration deadline for presidential candidates, as it is understood that forming a unified candidacy will become more complicated if this deadline is missed.
However, Ahn is still sticking to his long-held position of first developing policies that can push forward sweeping political reforms.
“The fastest way to achieve a liberal coalition is for the DUP to address how they will carry out reforms and by doing so changing the political scene,” said Rep. Song Ho-chang, co-chief of Ahn’s camp.
Ahn allegedly plans to discuss details with Moon after announcing a comprehensive list of campaign pledges and policies by Nov. 10.