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Ahn Cheol-soo loses ground in party politics
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Independent lawmaker Ahn Cheol-soo gives a speech in an open forum he arranged to mull ways of reforming the nation’s social and political structure in an art center in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province, on July 18. / Yonhap
By Jun Ji-hye
By Jun Ji-hye
When he won a seat in the National Assembly after a by-election on April 24 in Seoul’s Nowon district, many political pundits forecasted that a second wave of the Ahn Cheol-soo phenomena would emerge.
The first wave occurred during the lead-up to last year’s Dec. 19 presidential election when he stood as an independent candidate until he dropped out of the race to join hands with Moon Jae-in, candidate of the main opposition Democratic Party (DP).
Although the opposition lost to the ruling Saenuri Party’s Park Geun-hye, Ahn’s political influence was strong enough to trigger speculation about “political reform and a new politics.”
Following his victory against the ruling Saenuri Party candidate Huh Joon-young in the by-election, every comment he made at the time made headlines and provided content for front page stories. However, after a lapse of three months, his name almost disappeared from politics, causing critics to make cynical remarks that he is nothing more than just legislator among the 300 in the National Assembly.
Rival parties’ confrontation
His waning influence has apparently something to do with the current political situation.
The ruling party and the DP have recently going head to head over two major issues.
One is the National Intelligence Service’s (NIS) illegal intervention in the presidential election in which the DP’s Moon lost to President Park. Former NIS head Won Sei-hoon was accused of ordering his agents to conduct an undercover cyber campaign for the purpose of discrediting opposition candidates Moon and Ahn while supporting President Park.
The other is late President Roh Moo-hyun’s alleged disavowal of the Northern Limit Line, a de facto border line in the West Sea, during his summit talks with late Northern leader Kim Jong-il. This produced fresh political strife because lawmakers, who agreed to unseal the original 2007 inter-Korean summit minutes to scrutinize Roh’s controversial comments, failed to find the material in the National Archives of Korea.
Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo helps residents harvest peaches in an orchard in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province, on July 18. Amid the current confrontational situation between the ruling Saenuri Party and the main opposition Democratic Party, Ahn has failed to draw public attention with his influence waning in the political landscape. / Yonhap
The ruling party claimed that the Roh administration disposed of the presidential records, while the DP pointed the finger at the former President Lee Myung-bak government.
The wrangling by the rival parties over the two matters became a black hole in politics, overshadowing other issues of great concern to the nation and the people.
“The current situation in the political landscape can be summarized as a confrontation between conservatives and progressives, and between the ruling party and the opposition,” said Yoon Hee-woong, a senior researcher at the Korea Society Opinion Institute.
“Ahn does not belong to any of these factions because he is not involved in issues regarding the NIS and the late Roh. This inevitably ousted him from the center of new makers.”
Yoon added that the confrontational situation between two strong factions worked against Ahn who obviously wanted to keep his popularity and influence which he gained from the presidential poll and the by-election.
Indeed, the freshman lawmaker constantly issued statements regarding major issues over the NIS’s election meddling and the summit records.
When the NIS head Nam Jae-joon released the agency-kept summit minutes on June 24, Ahn said, “Nam should be dismissed because he put the agency’s interest above national prestige.”
When opposition lawmakers asked the reason why he decided to declassify the minutes, Nam answered: “I made a decision to protect the honor of the NIS.”
On July 2 when the Assembly conducted a vote to pass a motion to allow lawmakers access to the original summit records, protected by the highest level of confidentiality, Ahn voted against it.
The motion was approved by an overwhelming “yes” vote ― 257 to 17, with 2 abstentions. A total of 276 lawmakers attended the session.
“Even after the original material is made public, rival parties will produce different interpretations about the content and no conclusion will come out,” said Ahn. “The Assembly should be ashamed of its decision to disclose the confidential information because it will negatively affect the nation’s interests and its future diplomatic activities.”
Ahn held an open forum, along with his policy think tank dubbed “Naeil,” to study ways of reforming the spy agency on July 8. He argued that it is inappropriate to entrust the NIS with a task to reform itself, making a rebuttal against President Park’s request for the NIS’s self-reform.
Ahn recently held seminars in provincial areas including Daejeon, Changwon and Jeonju.
While in Jeonju on July 18, he claimed, “The current politics is not able to fulfill the public’s growing demand for change. The existing parties only focus on wasteful partisan disputes and confrontation,” criticizing both the ruling party and the DP.
He added: “I think it is necessary for more proper political forces to speak for the people and work hard to protect their interests. The public wants to see change in the leading powers.”
This was the strongest ever indication of his will to establish a new political party. Until three months ago, these comments would have been major news stories with sensational headlines. But they failed to attract attention after being overshadowed by strife between the two major parties over the summit minutes.
Failure to specify new politics
Experts say, however, that the parties’ current confrontation is not the only reason for Ahn’s fading influence.
“He has stressed the importance of new politics, but failed to specify this while going through the presidential election and the by-election. This could make the public feel disappointed about the long waiting.” said Chung Goon-gi, a political analyst and professor at Hongik University.
Indeed, Ahn has not proposed any bills, one of lawmakers’ essential jobs, since his entrance into the Assembly. The only comments he made regarding his envisioned new party were that he does not want to become locked into a singular direction political track, implying that he will seek “progressive liberalism.”
Chung added, however, that the ruling party and DP’s conflict could be another opportunity for Ahn to regain his popularity and influence.
“The public are tired of the two parties’ long and wasteful debates. Against this backdrop, Ahn could differentiate himself from existing politicians again,” he said.
The Korea Society Opinion Institute’s Yoon Hee-woong agreed with Chung.
“The public’s distrust and complaints against the ruling party and DP will deepen as lawmakers have locked horns and attacked each other without drawing any effective solutions,” said Yoon.
He said, when the confrontational situation is over, the public may renew their expectations about Ahn’s new politics.
The first-term lawmaker has already expressed a will to expand his political force through the October by-elections where about seven to 10 Assembly seats will be contested.
“I am working hard to recruit talented figures. I am planning to meet as many people as possible during July and August,” Ahn told reporters.
Yoon said Ahn’s recruits could produce successful results in the race with DP’s candidates in the Honam region, which refers to Gwangju and both South and North Jeolla provinces ― the home turf of the liberal party.
“As for the issue of the NIS’s election meddling, the DP was on the offensive, but could not show any bold achievement. This would reduce the DP’s approval ratings in the Honam region, giving Ahn a greater chance to win,” said Yoon, adding that this could drive realignment of the opposition quarters in October.