The Korea Times

It's not unified candidate

By Jung Min-hoAhn Cheol-soo’s tearful eyes and recent contradictory statements after dropping his presidential bid suggest that Moon Jae-in’s status as the remaining opposition candidate is more a by-product of an ongoing conflict between the two liberal politicians rather than a carefully deliberated choice of candidacy.In his standing-down address, the former Seoul National University professor said, “As of today, Moon is the single candidate. Blame me for any disharmony in the process of merging the candidacies and please throw your support behind Moon,” at his camp’s headquarters on Friday.But Ahn’s support for the Democratic United Party (DUP) candidate was put into question the following day amid reports that Ahn said he was deeply disappointed with Moon after their televised debate last Wednesday.Apparently, Ahn’s recent contradictory statements left many of his supporters confused, because Saturday’s poll, jointly conducted by SBS and research firm TNS, indicates that only 52 percent of Ahn’s support was absorbed by Moon.

Nov 26, 2012By Jung Min-ho

South Korea

Supporter commits suicide for candidacy unification

By Jung Min-hoA 52-year-old man jumped to his death Wednesday from the 13th floor of his apartment building in Wanju, North Jeolla Province, urging liberal presidential hopefuls Moon Jae-in and Ahn Cheol-soo to agree on a single candidate to prevent a split in the opposition vote, police said.He took the drastic action after talks to select a unified liberal candidate reached an impasse due to deep differences of opinion over the method of selection.The liberal supporter, identified only by his surname, Yu, left a suicide note and a six-meter long and 50-centimeter wide placard calling for the candidacy unification issue to be resolved.On it was written, “Dear two candidates. Please build a happy welfare nation together with one pulling the wagon while the other pushes from behind for the farmers who suffer despite all their hard work.”After watching the two candidates’ televised debate during which they exchanged views over key campaign issues, Yu said he couldn’t sleep and decided to commit suicide that night, according to an official at Wanju Police Station

Nov 23, 2012By Jung Min-ho

Defense

Korea, US in war of nerves over arms deals

By Lee Tae-hoonTensions are riding high between Korea and the United States over the former’s purchase plans for the latter’s cutting edge weapons.The cause of conflict lies on the Defense Acquisition Program Administration’s (DAPA) aggressive push to get a “bargain price” for the latest defense items, including Lockheed Martin’s F-35 Block IIIs, Boeing’s AH-64D Apache helicopter Block IIIs and Sikorsky’s MH-60Rs.“We have run into a stumbling block over our negotiations because the U.S. government’s position remains firm that it cannot sell its arms products at a lower price than it purchases them for its armed forces,” a DAPA official said.He explained that Washington has notified Seoul that none of its products to be sold to its allied nations through the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program, a government-to-government agreement for selling U.S. defense articles, can be offered at a “discounted price.”The DAPA official also noted that his agency is struggling to make Washington bend the rules of the FMS a

Nov 22, 2012By Jung Min-ho

South Korea

Moon, Ahn lost in abstract, dull debate

By Jung Min-hoThe two liberal presidential hopefuls appeared lost Wednesday in empty rhetoric, squandering a valuable opportunity to articulate their respective political road maps and demonstrate their grasp on policy issues.   Moon Jae-in, the candidate of the main opposition Democratic United Party and independent Ahn Cheol-soo held their first debate amid negotiations to merge their candidacies ahead of the deadline for candidacy registration, which falls Monday.But neither emerged as the clear winner as both failed to explain their pledges with a sense of purpose.  “After watching the 100-minute debate, I have no idea what either would actually do if elected,” 23-year-old college student Bang Su-won said. “I expected to hear how they would execute their pledges over issues like unemployment and cutting college tuition in half. But what they did was to bring up problems without providing ways to tackle them.”At Kim Koo Museum and Library in Seoul, the two candidates talked about four topics: the state of politics, the economy, society and fo

Nov 22, 2012By Jung Min-ho

South Korea

Death penalty may become campaign issue

By Jung Min-hoWill a new leadership in Korea resume the death penalty?Presidential candidate Park Guen-hye of the ruling Saenuri Party stated her position on capital punishment Tuesday when she said “sex crimies committed against underage children have to be combated by serious punishment including the death penalty.”Park’s statement re-ignited debate over the issue which has been put on the back burner during the election campaign. Advocates of capital punishment began pushing the issue in the media in the aftermath of a spate of shocking sex offenses over the last several months. This also pushed Park’s two liberal rivals Moon Jae-in and Ahn Cheol-soo to clarify their positions on the issue.“The death penalty issue seems likely to return to the discussion table because politicians are currently in a position where they have to boost their poll numbers by any means possible,” Lee Yoon-ho, professor at Department of Police Administration of Dongguk University, said. “Given the fact that the vast majority of people support capital punishment,

Nov 21, 2012By Jung Min-ho

South Korea

Will social media be game changer?

Ruling Saenuri Party presidential hopeful Park Guen-hye poses with her supporters at Korea Press Foundation in Seoul on Nov. 7.                      / Yonhap Park Geun-hye has the most Kakao Talk friends with 192,127 ahead of her two male rivals AhnCheol-soo and Moon Jae-in with 184,958 and 162,699 respectively.By Jung Min-hoUtilizing social media was an important part of Barack Obama’s consecutive successes in the two U.S. presidential elections. It remains to be seen whether services such as Twitter and Facebook will play a similar pivotal role in Korea where voters will elect a new president on Dec. 19.Social media has dramatically reshaped the way people communicate and form their opinions thanks to the pages of running dialogue and ubiquitous accessibility, enabled through mobile Internet devices such as smartphones.Korea’s three main presidential hopefuls ― Park Geun-hye of the ruling Saenuri Party, Moon Jae-in of the Democratic United Party (DUP) and independent contender Ahn Cheol-soo ―&nbs

Nov 20, 2012By Jung Min-ho

South Korea

Candidacy hinges on poll details

Two embark on crucial last-ditch efforts toward allianceBy Jung Min-hoPrompted by the rapid progress in talks for unifying opposition candidacies, representatives of both sides are poised to embark on full-fledged negotiations starting from today.Moon Jae-in, the presidential candidate of the main opposition Democratic United Party (DUP), and independent Ahn Cheol-soo have to come up with a method acceptable to both in selecting a unified candidate, including the wording of questions for an opinion poll or primary-style vote.The candidate registration deadline is Nov. 26.Moon has given Ahn’s side the right to decide on a method of merging the candidacies, but the questions to be asked in what is likely to be an opinion poll remain foggy.Poll numbers have differed considerably depending on the wording of the questions, and this is likely to be the hottest issue during negotiations over the next few days.According to Gallup Korea’s latest survey Nov. 14, Moon was ahead of Ahn with 46 percent to 34 percent when the question asked was, “Who is the most suitable unified

Nov 18, 2012By Jung Min-ho

Politics

Turnabout in 3-way poll

By Jung Min-hoA survey released Wednesday showed Moon Jae-in, the presidential candidate of the main opposition Democratic United Party (DUP) getting more support than independent Ahn Cheol-soo in a three-way race with ruling Saenuri Party contender Park Geun-hye for the first time.The latest Gallup poll indicated that 23 percent of respondents said they would support Moon, 21 percent would vote for Ahn, while Park remained ahead of both with 39 percent.In the survey, conducted on 929 people from Monday through Wednesday, 17 percent said they were undecided. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.2 percent. When asked about a more suitable unified candidate for the liberal camp, Moon received support of 46 percent, 3 percentage points up from last Friday’s survey; Ahn had 34 percent, down 3 points. Also in two-way hypothetical contests, the DUP candidate edged Ahn against the conservative rival. Moon with 46 percent was inching ahead of Park with 45 percent, whereas Ahn and Park were tied with 46 percent.It bears further watching how Ahn’s camp abandoning talks

Nov 15, 2012By Jung Min-ho

Ahn rejects Moon's apology

South Korea

Two liberals take collective jab at Park

Rep. Moon Jae-in, center, the main opposition Democratic United Party’s (DUP) presidential candidate, and independent contender Ahn Cheol-soo, right, shout slogans after watching the movie, “Namyeong-dong 1985,” together at the Megabox Cineplex in the COEX Mall in Seoul, Monday evening. At left is Rep. In Jae-keun of the DUP, the wife of the late Kim Geun-tae, whose story the film is about. / YonhapBy Jung Min-hoThe eyes of the two liberal presidential candidates, Moon Jae-in from the Democratic United Party (DUP) and independent contender Ahn Cheol-soo, welled-up with tears as they watched the movie, “Namyeong-dong 1985,” together at a theater in southern Seoul, Monday evening.Directed by Chung Ji-young, the film is about late democratization activist and lawmaker Kim Geun-tae, who was tortured for 22 days in 1985 for protesting against Chun Doo-hwan’s military government.Moon and Ahn are currently in talks to decide who between them will be the unified liberal candidate to stand against Park Geun-hye, the ruling Saenuri Party candidate and daught

Nov 13, 2012By Jung Min-ho

Sports

Ulsan Hyundai to meet Al Ahli in ACL final

Ulsan Hyundai manager Kim Ho-gon speaks at a press conference in Ulsan, Friday. / Yonhap By Jung Min-hoUlsan Hyundai will face Saudi Arabia’s Al Ahli in the Asian Champions League (ACL) final today in a bid to earn the honor of becoming Asia’s best football club as well as the $1.5-million (1.6 billion won) prize money.The game will be at Ulsan’s Munsu Football Stadium, giving the Korean side the advantage of home support.They have reached the final with nine wins and two draws and are on an eight-win streak, whereas Al Ahli had five wins, three draws and three losses.Ulsan strikers Lee Keun-ho and Kim Shin-wook have scored a combined 10 goals in the competition. Lee has played a key role in leading the team not only by netting four times but also by producing six assists. Brazilian forward Rafinha has provided effective support, scoring four times. Their firepower is expected to worry the Saudi side’s defense.“We played Saudi Arabia's Al Ittihad previously. Based on our analysis, Al Ahli has a similar style,” Ulsan Hyundai manager Kim Ho

Nov 9, 2012By Jung Min-ho

Jung Min-ho

Read more

It's not unified candidate

Supporter commits suicide for candidacy unification

Korea, US in war of nerves over arms deals

Moon, Ahn lost in abstract, dull debate

Death penalty may become campaign issue

Will social media be game changer?

Candidacy hinges on poll details

Turnabout in 3-way poll

Two liberals take collective jab at Park

Ulsan Hyundai to meet Al Ahli in ACL final

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