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| Ahn Cheol-soo, former leader of the minor opposition Bareunmirae Party poses after finishing the Berlin Marathon, Sept. 28. Yonhap |
By Park Ji-won
An internal feud is deepening between members of the minor opposition Bareunmirae Party (BMP) following former BMP leader Ahn Cheol-soo's decision to pursue his academic interests rather than coming back to South Korea to unite the divided party and work toward the 2020 general election.
Rep. Ha Tae-keung said it was possible Ahn would resume his political activities within this year, citing multiple political sources.
"I learned that Ahn's visit to the United States was set up a long time ago according to his close aides." He also urged Ahn to come back and join preparations for the general election if he wants to be elected president in the future.
His remarks contradict Ahn who made it clear that he will continue to study in the U.S. as a visiting professor at Stanford University. He is expected to serve one year there. He left South Korea after losing the Seoul mayor election last year in which he ran for the BMP. He has been staying in Germany since then; but remains one of the leading prospective presidential candidates in polls.
Recently, Rep Yoo Seung-min, a former co-leader of the BMP and chief of its reform committee, sent a message to Ahn, saying he would travel anywhere in the world to meet him and discuss unifying the party. He urged Ahn to resume political activities in South Korea amid the possibility that several smaller parties, including the BMP, will merge before the elections.
Yoo is looking for ways to reform the party amid its falling support rate. These include merging with another party and getting Ahn to return as its leader ― the two formed the current BMP in 2018.
The BMP has been largely split since Ahn left after the mayoral election: members of the now-defunct Bareun Party led by Yoo, and those from the People's Party formerly led by Ahn. After several members of the Party for Democracy and Peace (PDP) decided to quit and work independently in August, critics anticipated that minor parties may merge to create a bigger political force to prepare for the upcoming elections. There are few people in the minor opposition circle who have as strong a fan base as a politician as Ahn, which has made lawmakers urge him to return for the elections.
However, a close aide to Ahn refuted the possibility of him returning to Seoul sooner citing his schedule set up beforehand, and criticized the lawmakers who blame Ahn for not returning to South Korea faster.
Kim Do-sik, another close aide to Ahn, criticized the BMP lawmakers urging Ahn's return and others calling him a "bandwagoner," saying, "These rude remarks are not helping us to look for new paths together."
The internal feud is expected to linger unless Ahn returns to Seoul, according to other political sources.
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