Ahn Cheol-soo struggles to resuscitate weakening presence

The Korea Times

The Korea Times

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Mon, October 2, 2023 | 00:36

Politics

Ahn Cheol-soo struggles to resuscitate weakening presence

Posted : 2022-12-07 16:40

Updated : 2022-12-07 16:47

Ruling People Power Party Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo sits in a hall at the National Assembly in Seoul, during the party's lawmakers' congress on Nov. 24. Newsis

By Nam Hyun-woo

Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo of the ruling People Power Party (PPP) is struggling to resuscitate his political influence, as his presence in the party's chairmanship race remains at a disappointing level despite his reputation as a former presidential candidate who then merged his campaign with President Yoon Suk-yeol's.

During a PPP forum in the National Assembly, Wednesday, Ahn told reporters that "it is time to worry about the (2024) general election."

When asked about his thoughts on opinions that a presidential hopeful should not run for the party's chairmanship, he said, "That is a very idle idea. It is an illogical claim aimed at eliminating rivals."

Ahn's comments came amid his faltering presence in the race for the PPP's chairmanship, which is anticipated to take place as early as late February next year.

In a joint survey by Kookmin Research Group and Ace Research released on Wednesday, Ahn remains the third-most-preferred candidate for the PPP's next chairman with a 10.3 percent support rate, followed by former Rep. Yoo Seong-min with 33.6 percent and Na Kyung-won with 12.5 percent.

Trailing Ahn was Rep. Kim Gi-hyeon with 4.9 percent. Compared to Ahn, Yoo and Na, Kim is lagging when it comes to the public's awareness but has been emerging recently as an influential contender because the PPP's pro-Yoon faction is showing signs of endorsing Kim as their flag-bearer following Kim's one-on-one dinner with President Yoon on Nov. 30.

People Power Party Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo delivers a speech during the Softwave 2022 exhibition at COEX in southern Seoul's Gangnam District, Wednesday. Yonhap

For Ahn, who was the chairman of the center-right People's Party and has vied for the presidency in the past three presidential elections, this is a disappointing race.

During the last presidential race, Ahn merged his election campaign so as to endorse Yoon's candidacy just a week before the election, which took place on March 9. His People's Party was also merged into the PPP.

This late decision subsequently played a critical role in the election, because Yoon took the presidency with a razor-thin margin of 0.73 percentage point over his main rival, Lee Jae-myung, now the chairman of the Democratic Party of Korea.

Following that victory, Ahn chaired the presidential transition committee, sparking speculation that he would take a major role in Yoon's Cabinet. After disputes between Yoon's close aides, however, he was not included in Yoon's selection of ministers and presidential secretaries and became a lawmaker through a by-election victory in June.

Since then, he has been struggling due to his faltering presence within the party. While lawmakers close to President Yoon, such as Reps. Kweon Seong-dong, Chang Je-won and Yoon Han-hong, gained influence as heavyweights raising their opinions on various political matters, Ahn appears to have been sidelined from the party's mainstream, with some pundits saying "Ahn's influence in the party does not match his public visibility."

With the party's mainstream being controlled by the pro-Yoon faction, Ahn's political stance of being relatively critical of Yoon is also questionable. During a radio interview with broadcaster KBS on Nov. 17, Ahn said, "It is impossible to expand (the party's) turf if we deliver thoughts 100 percent the same as the presidential office's."

Ruling People Power Party (PPP) Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo, left, shakes hands with PPP Rep. Kweon Seong-dong, left during a forum organized by the party at the National Assembly on Yeouido, Seoul, Wednesday. At center is Rep. Kim Gi-hyeon. Yonhap

Against this backdrop, Ahn attended Wednesday's forum, which was a study group by the pro-Yoon faction, in what appeared to be an effort to appeal to the party's mainstream. The forum was participated by 71 out of 115 PPP lawmakers, and attendees pledged to fulfill their role for the success of the Yoon administration.

Later that day, Ahn headed to Busan and the surrounding South Gyeongsang Province for a five-day stay, in an apparent bid to gain support from his hometown area. Ahn was born in Miryang, South Gyeongsang Province, and spent his school days in Busan.

Wednesday's poll was requested by news agency Newsis and surveyed 1,030 adults from Dec. 4 to 6. Further details are available on the National Election Survey Deliberation Commission's website.

namhw@koreatimes.co.kr