The political reform plans of major presidential candidates appeared to be taking shape as public calls for sweeping change have grown ahead of the Dec. 19 poll, election watchers said Monday.
All three leading candidates have pledged comprehensive reforms to root out the corruption and factional infighting that have plagued the country's political landscape for decades and led to widespread public disenchantment with politics, they said.
The issue has gained further attention in recent weeks after independent contender Ahn Cheol-soo demanded the main opposition Democratic United Party (DUP) take practical steps toward political reform as a prerequisite for the possible merging of liberal candidacies.
Ahn and DUP standard-bearer Moon Jae-in are widely expected to unify their bids because they would split the opposition vote if they don't, and hand victory to the ruling Saenuri Party candidate, Park Geun-hye.
Moon and Ahn have announced their political reform plans over the past week, that cover stripping politicians of their vested rights by adjusting the number of lawmakers in parliament, reforming the process through which candidates are chosen to run in parliamentary elections, and improving the political party system.
However, the two candidates differ widely over the details, with Ahn, the 50-year-old former software entrepreneur, pushing for a reduction in the total number of lawmakers from the current 300, and Moon, the human rights lawyer-turned-politician, arguing for an adjustment of their composition from 246 directly-elected and 54 proportional representatives to 200 direct and 100 proportional representatives.
In general, Ahn's plans center on weakening the power of political parties, while Moon appears to seek improvements within the established framework.
Earlier in the day, Moon told a meeting with party officials that Ahn's plans to cut the size of parliament and scrap central party organizations "do not fit with the political direction we should pursue."
However, he also said the two sides "should find agreement on a candidacy merger with political reforms as the common denominator and engage in wide-ranging and constructive talks."
The remarks could be seen as an attempt to build momentum toward a unification of bids, despite Ahn's apparent reluctance to be absorbed into the party.
Political reforms have also been a cornerstone of ruling party candidate Park's campaign ever since she led her once-beleaguered party to an upset victory in April's general elections in her capacity as then interim chief.
The 60-year-old daughter of late President Park Chung-hee has yet to lay out a detailed plan for her political reform drive, but political watchers said the announcement could come as early as this week.
The party's special committee for political reforms wrapped up discussions of a comprehensive reform plan last week and reportedly agreed on a series of measures including greater nationwide participation in party affairs, reforms of the lawmaker nomination system and changes to the state prosecutors' office.
Meanwhile, with 51 days to go until the election, the opposition also stepped up pressure on the ruling party to agree to an extension of voting hours on polling day.
The DUP is pushing for a legal revision that would allow voters to cast their ballots from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m., a three-hour extension from the present closing time of 6 p.m.
"Ahn has also shown a strong determination to set up a special camp tasked with extending the voting hours," Moon told the same meeting.
"There's a need to consider a sort of alliance," he said, calling on Park to also join in their efforts.
The opposition argues that longer voting hours would make it easier for irregular workers and small business owners to exercise their political rights, but the ruling party has reacted negatively to the idea, saying the government would incur massive additional costs.
The dispute is widely regarded as a conflict of interests between the liberals, whose supporters are mainly young and vote at late hours, and the conservatives, who enjoy broad support from the older generations that tend to vote early. (Yonhap)