By Kang Hyun-kyung
With less than two months remaining before the Oct. 26 by-elections, Ahn Cheol-soo is reshaping the Seoul mayoral race as he topped polls taken last week by a wide margin.
A doctor-turned-computer scientist, he developed the computer anti-virus and vaccine software, widely used among Internet users here.
A lackluster debate over whether the initiative of free school meals for all students is a populist idea has dramatically lost its influence as a campaign issue.
The Seoul mayoral race has turned into a competition between Ahn and the others, marking a shift from a tedious issue oriented race.
Yoon Hee-woong, senior fellow of the polling agency Korea Society Opinion Institute, called the strong presence of Ahn in public opinion polls “sensational.”
“Soaring support for the computer software expert shows that voters are sick and tired of old politics and existing politicians,” he said.
Yoon added Seoulites’ overwhelming support for Ahn, dean of the Seoul National University Graduate School of Convergence Science and Technology, probably demonstrated their trust of the computer geek who has the total package.
“Compared with some politicians embroiled in corruption scandals, he is considered clean, has personality and some citizens even admire him for his past accomplishments.”
Kim Moon-soo, governor of Gyeonggi Province, praised Ahn for his work ethic, saying he had a chance to talk to him at an event hosted by his office and felt he was a great person.
Yoon predicted the phenomenon of “Ahn being unrivaled” in the Seoul mayoral race could remain intact until people go to the polls on Oct. 26.
Leaders of political parties are feeling mounting pressure from the Ahn factor as they are forced to map out a new campaign strategy to respond to the new landscape.
At a meeting with senior lawmakers, Hong Joon-pyo, chairman of the GNP, said those in the political arena should not miss the message of the general public’s sweeping support for Ahn.
“It is a warning against old politics,” he said. “We politicians need to pay more attention to bread-and-butter issues, instead of bickering over partisan politics.”
The ruling party is pressed hard as Ahn ruled out the possibility of running in the Seoul mayoral race on the GNP ticket.
In an interview, he said even if he declares his candidacy in the Seoul mayoral race, he would not consider the ruling party.
Earlier, parties geared up to politicize welfare policies as a key campaign agenda to win the Seoul mayoral race.
There are clear divisions between the ruling and opposition parties over key social policies, including free school meals and medical services.
The GNP called for the phasing-in of free school meals, opposing the implementation of free school meals for all students suggested by the main opposition Democratic Party (DP).
Lawmakers of the ruling party said middle- or upper middle-income families can afford school lunches for their children and therefore sponsoring their school meals is a waste of taxpayers’ money.
They called for saving these funds to finance afterschool programs for working-class children.
But the DP opposed this. It calls for free school meals for all students, demanding further free childcare for all families.
The ruling party claims the DP’s free welfare policy packages are “a populist idea,” whereas the DP has labeled the ruling party as “an anti-welfare faction.”
The two sides have attempted to ignite the welfare debate as a major campaign agenda.
But their efforts appear to be in vain after Ahn “set a new order.”