Ahn backs Yoo to woo conservatives

By Jun Ji-hye

Yoo Seong-min

The co-chairman of the minor opposition People’s Party, Ahn Cheol-soo, is repeatedly making comments in support of former Saenuri Party floor leader Yoo Seong-min, now standing as an independent candidate in Daegu, after he bolted from the ruling party.

Analysts say that this is an apparent effort by the center-left politician to woo conservative voters in the run-up to the April 13 general election.

Ahn is apparently attempting to utilize Yoo’s history of being marginalized within the governing party amid factional disputes to expose the inherent problems of the main parties and differentiate the People’s Party from them. The strategy is part of a belief that conservative voters who became disillusioned with the Saenuri Party because of Yoo’s marginalization and exit from the party might decide to back the People’s Party as an alternative, said the analysts.

Ahn also apparently believes that Yoo’s image of a “reformative conservative” matches the values pursued by the People’s Party.

During his visit to Daegu, a traditional stronghold of the governing party, Wednesday, Ahn told voters, “The Saenuri Party is not normal right now as it rejected a person only because he said ‘The Republic of Korea is a democratic republic.’”

Ahn also said that a lawmaker should be able to publicly say “welfare without tax hikes is a fiction.”

Ahn’s remarks obviously referred to Yoo, who was once a key member of supporters of President Park Geun-hye within the governing party but was later estranged from the faction after voicing objections to a number of Park’s pledges such as “welfare without a tax hikes.”

On July 8 last year when Yoo stepped down as the floor leader of the ruling party due to mounting pressure from the pro-Park members, he told a news conference, “I wanted to protect the value of the Constitution that declares ‘The Republic of Korea is a democratic republic.’”

Yoo quit the ruling party on March 23 after failing to receive the party’s nomination, apparently due to his conflict with the pro-Park faction that dominated the party’s nominations committee.

Wednesday was not the first time that Ahn made comments siding with Yoo.

On March 29, Ahn said during a forum hosted by the Kwanhun Club, an association of senior journalists that, “Yoo is a symbol of a reformative conservative,” apparently trying to establishing a link between the influential conservative figure and the People’s Party.

Since his departure in mid-December from the main opposition Minjoo Party of Korea’s predecessor, the New Politics Alliance for Democracy, Ahn has stressed that the nation needs to move away from old politics dominated by the two major parties, claiming that his People’s Party is valuable as the third party and an alternative to the existing parties.

Citing that only one candidate from the People’s party is running in districts in Daegu, Yoon Hee-woong, a senior researcher and political commentator at Opinion Live, said Ahn’s visit to Daegu was to woo voter support for the party itself.

“By highlighting problems and conflicts in existing parties, Ahn is raising the need for an alternative,” Yoon said. “In the long-term, Ahn is also trying to maintain an amicable relationship with Yoo for the future in case he might need to join hands with powerful figures ahead of the next year’s presidential election.”

Yoon also said by promoting his party, Ahn is also seeking to increase the number of proportional representation lawmakers for the People’s Party as the number is determined by the overall votes the party receives in the election.

Follow Jun Ji-hye on Twitter @TheKopJihye