By Jun Ji-hye
Ahn Cheol-soo made a visit Friday to the National Cemetery in Gwangju to pay his respects to those killed during the May 18 Democracy Uprising in 1980.
His visit mirrored previous presidential candidates’ trips to the cemetery to pay their respects to victims of the nation’s democracy movement.
It came ahead of an expected announcement of his presidential bid, which is expected to take place after the primary election of the main opposition Democratic United Party(DUP) wraps up.
Gwangju is in the western Honam region, the home base for the DUP, which is openly courting the popular professor at Seoul National University.
The DUP has almost finished its primary tour with Rep. Moon Jae-in likely to emerge as its standard bearer at the final stop in Seoul on Sunday.
During his visit, Ahn wrote “Rest in Peace” in the visitor’s book, as he paid his respects at the memorial and toured an exhibit hall.
“Ahn has long thought of visiting the National Cemetery for the May 18 Uprising but he wanted to do it alone and quietly,” said Yoo Min-young, a de-facto spokesman for Ahn.
In May 1980, citizens in Gwangju and South Jeolla Province protested against the military junta of then Gen. Chun Doo-hwan, calling for his resignation. The cemetery accommodates those who were killed in the armed protests.
On Thursday, Ahn met with Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon.
The two share a camaraderie after Ahn relinquished his plan to run in last year’s Seoul mayoral race and threw his support behind Park.
Park was elected as an independent but has since joined the DUP.
Meanwhile, Ahn’s approval ratings picked up affected by his comment that he will announce his stance on the presidential bid after the DUP picks its candidate.
His approval rate rose to 45.1 percent, according to Realmeter’s survey of 1,500 people conducted between Wednesday and Thursday. In the meantime, Rep. Park Geun-hye of ruling Saenuri Party got 45.4 percent in the same survey.
Ahn’s younger brother, Sang-wook, reportedly said the Seoul National University professor made up his mind to run for president after holding a meeting with Park.
Cho Kuk, a law professor at Seoul National University, cited the need for Ahn to form an alliance with the DUP.
In his appearance on an MBS radio program, he said, “If Ahn Cheol-soo decides to run for the presidential election and if Rep. Moon Jae-in is selected as the DUP candidate, the best scenario for the opposition is that one concedes the candidacy to the other through negotiation.”
“A clean concession will be the most beautiful and the most touching way of unification. I believe it will guarantee the opposition’s victory,” he said.
He opposed the idea of a playoff or using opinion poll ratings to choose between Ahn and Moon, as it will likely fail to attract public interest.
“It will be the worst way of unifying a candidate,” said Cho, a progressive scholar.