By Kang Hyun-kyung
Ahn Cheol-soo’s lukewarm support for Moon Jae-in, revealed in his speech to his fans gathered at his former election camp’s office in Seoul, Monday, stirred speculation on the impact of his strategic ambiguity on the Democratic United Party’s (DUP) presidential candidate.
While refraining from directly expressing his willingness to back Moon, the software millionaire said he would continue to march for the cause of clean politics that can give hope to citizens.
“The presidential campaign is not on the right track as negative campaigns are full in swing and political mudsling dominates,” he said. Ahn said there has been no change in his position that Moon is the unified liberal candidate.
But he didn’t say anything that can be interpreted as his determination to fully back the main opposition DUP candidate.
The announcement came as ruling Saenuri Party candidate Park Geun-hye stands ahead of Moon with a widening gap, although it is still too small to tell whether she will have the upper hand in the election.
A latest SBS poll found that nationwide support for Park was 46 percent, compared with her rival Moon’s 37.8 percent. The SBS survey, which was conducted on 1,500 people, showed that Park’s lead went beyond the margin of error which was plus or minus 2.5 percentage points.
Other surveys also showed that the gap between Park and Moon has widened by 4 or 5 percentage points in favor of the Saenuri Party candidate.
The poll alarmed the Moon camp, sparking the candidate and his strategists set to launch an offensive campaign in order to turn the tide.
Rep. Woo Sang-ho said the DUP sees a rise of Park’s ratings in recent polls as the result of the consolidation of conservative voters after some conservative icons, such as Lee Hoi-chang, a former leader of the minor conservative Liberty Forward Party, endorsed the daughter of the late President Park Chung-hee as the next president.
Despite Park’s lead in polls, it’s still too early to predict who will win the Dec. 19 election because of swing voters in the greater Seoul area.
Voters in this region account for nearly 50 percent of the total. Previous elections showed they are not loyal to any candidate or party as they are quick to switch their support.
Recent Gallup weekly polls showed that Park is gaining the upper hand in the capital as her support rose 3 percent in the latest survey released on Nov. 30, compared with the poll taken two days earlier.
Her support among voters in Seoul marked 45 percent, compared with Moon’s 43 percent. But the DUP candidate’s ratings in Incheon and Gyeonggi Province rose 2 percent, marking 44 percent and resulting in a tie with Park in the region.