By Kim Hyo-jin
At least a dozen newly elected lawmakers in the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) are considering supporting South Chungcheong Province Governor An Hee-jung over Moon Jae-in in the party’s presidential primary, sources said Monday.
The lawmakers, including Reps. Rhee Cheol-hee and Kang Hoon-sik, will hold a press conference to announce their backing of An soon after they make a decision.
“The new lawmakers, buoyed by the surging popularity of An, are now thinking about joining An’s campaign,” a DPK official said. “They are expected to announce their support for An anytime soon. It can come either separately or collectively.”
The lawmakers have been cautious about talking about the primary while senior lawmakers widely express their support for Moon Jae-in, the party’s former leader and leading presidential contender.
Their changing attitude came amid An’s rising popularity in opinion polls. An’s support has been soaring for weeks and topped 20 percent last week, narrowing the gap with Moon by single-digit percentage points.
In the latest Realmeter poll released Monday, An stood at 20.4 percent, an increase of 3.7 percentage points from the previous week, while Moon remained at 32.5 percent of support, a fall of 0.4 percentage points.
He was catapulted into second place in opinion polls after U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who was once viewed as a potential presidential candidate from the conservative bloc, dropped out of the race in early February.
Taking a centrist stance, An has caught the attention of voters from a wider range of the political spectrum than have other DPK contenders, pundits claim.
Lawmakers who are not aligned with Moon hailed the rivalry, saying it will galvanize the party’s primary. It could have been ignored by the public amid high anticipation of a comfortable Moon victory, they said.
The move to support An revolves around Reps. Rhee and Kang, known to be close to Sohn Hak-gyu, a former adviser who recently joined the minor opposition People’s Party, the officials said.
“An’s support rate is expected to increase further,” Rhee said earlier in an SBS podcast. “It is a strategically positive sign. The more dramatic and dynamic the primary race gets, the more chance the party has of winning the presidential race with our final candidate.”
Party officials noted the possibility that Rep. Kim Chong-in, a former party leader who took over the position from Moon, could also back An.
But Kim’s aide told MBN that the situation would depend on whether An’s support goes over 25 percent in opinion polls, otherwise Kim could contest the primary himself.
Kim’s support is expected to give An momentum in the primary. Kim has had close contact with lawmakers who do not follow Moon in the party.
He met about 20 anti-Moon lawmakers last week and discussed developments in the primary race. The move fed speculation that more lawmakers might join a possible collective move in favor of An.