By Kang Hyun-kyung
Pollsters characterized supporters of Ahn Cheol-soo, a Seoul National University professor, as people in their 20s, 30s and 40s who are sick and tired of old politics.
It remains to be seen whether these voters, who have shown political apathy, will continue to stand by Ahn if he agrees with Rep. Moon Jae-in, the presidential candidate of the Democratic United Party (DUP), to pick a unified standard bearer for the opposition camp.
On Wednesday, the 50-year-old said he has no plan to launch a physical campaign team or office for the December presidential election. Instead, he said, he will reach out to voters via social media.
His team opened a Facebook account (www.faceboook.com/ahnspeaker), saying it will be a vehicle through which they will communicate with supporters by disseminating information about the presidential candidate and getting their reactions.
Ahn, who developed the nation’s first anti-virus vaccine program, revealed his intention to differentiate himself from current politicians through the unprecedented campaign tactic.
Campaign watchers said the tactic appears to be designed to curry favor with his traditional supporters as well as to appeal to the hearts and minds of moderate voters who are tired of established politics.
Some, however, said it is questionable if this experimental strategy will work as planned and, if so, how long it will be effective.
Their skepticism is based on the premise that sooner or later Ahn will sit down with Moon to prevent a vote split.
If Ahn and Moon run separately, current wisdom states that both will lose out due to this.
Rep. Park Geun-hye, the presidential candidate of the ruling Saenuri Party, will benefit from any rift in the opposition camp. Polls taken last week showed that she is the leading candidate in a three-way race with Ahn and Moon.
Therefore the majority of campaign watchers predict that Ahn and Moon will seek a unified candidacy.
Hong Sung-gul, a professor of Kookmin University in Seoul, said selecting a standard bearer for the opposition camp would complicate Ahn’s legacy. He will be troubled no matter how the drive to pick a unified candidate turns out, Hong said.
“If they agree to select a standard bearer, Ahn will face pressure. If Ahn is chosen, he will probably need to run on the DUP ticket,” he said.
Considering his supporters are haters of old politics and existing political parties, Professor Hong said, it’s questionable if Ahn’s backers will continue to support him if he compromises with a current politician.
The political scientist predicted Ahn would also face a tricky situation if he endorses Moon for next the president.
“I am wondering if his fans will continue to show their support if he withdraws his bid because of the DUP presidential candidate. Will this sound convincing to people looking to new politics that can replace old politics?”
Yoon Hee-woong, a senior fellow of the Seoul-based polling agency Korea Society Opinion Institute, said Ahn’s endorsement of Park Won-soon for Seoul mayor last year was different from a possible endorsement for Moon.
“Park was a long-time civic group activist. So Ahn felt relatively little pressure when he announced he would not run in the Seoul mayoral race and would support Park. But if Ahn supports Moon, the message will sound very different because Moon is a politician.”