SEOUL, — Presidential candidate Ahn Cheol-soo of the minor People’s Party said Sunday he is dropping his offer to merge campaigns with main opposition candidate Yoon Suk-yeol and will finish the presidential race on his own.
The decision is expected to add to uncertainties in the already tight race in which Yoon and Lee Jae-myung of the ruling Democratic Party (DP) have been running neck and neck at around 40 percent support each, with Ahn at around 10 percent support.
Ahn’s announcement came a week after he proposed the merger with Yoon of the conservative People Power Party (PPP), saying the two sides should field a single candidate to ensure a victory over Lee in the March 9 election.
Ahn had proposed conducting a public opinion survey to determine which of the two is the better fit as the unified candidate.
“Over the past week, the No. 1 opposition party sufficiently and clearly demonstrated through its lack of response and spreading of fake news that it has neither the will nor the sincerity for a merger,” he said during a press conference at the National Assembly.
“That is why last night, after the funerals were over, I decided it was meaningless to wait any longer for a response,” he said.
Ahn returned to the campaign trail Saturday following three days of mourning after a local campaign chief and a bus driver died inside a campaign vehicle apparently from inhaling toxic gas from a generator powering an LED screen.
“Even though it may be rough and difficult, I will steadfastly go my way,” he said, adding that all responsibility for the failed merger falls on Yoon and the PPP.
Yoon and his party had welcomed a merger because of its potential to become a game-changer in a tight race. But they balked at the idea of an opinion survey, citing concern some of the respondents, who are supporters of Lee or his party, could pick Ahn in the belief he would be an easier match for Lee.
PPP officials had hoped Ahn would eventually drop out of the race and back Yoon’s campaign.
But Ahn said Saturday his mind changed after the tragedy.
“I’ve made up my mind, thought and determination that their sacrifices should never be wasted in vain,” he said during a live YouTube session held under the title, “I will never stop.”
“Ahn Cheol-soo from a week ago is totally different from the Ahn Cheol-soo of now in terms of determination and resolution,” he said after a day of campaigning Saturday. “Even though I’m doing this with a smile and a comfortable look on my face, my mind is harder than ever.”
The PPP said it hopes to continue to work together with Ahn for a change of the government, suggesting that the party will keep working on candidate unification despite Ahn’s decision.
“We fully understand the sincerity with which candidate Ahn spoke,” Rep. Lee Yang-soo, chief spokesperson of the PPP’s presidential campaign committee, said. “We should not disappoint people demanding a change of the government.”
Lee said Ahn’s decision came as a surprise as the two sides have closely communicated.
“We don’t have enough time to do it in a bottom-up manner,” Lee said of discussions to unify candidates. “But a top-down method is possible, isn’t it? We believe the path is still open.”
DP officials expressed relief that a worst-case scenario was averted and held out hope for a rebound in their candidate’s ratings.
Although Yoon and Lee have been neck and neck, Yoon has often led Lee by several percentage points. In a new Realmeter poll released Sunday, the PPP candidate beat the DP candidate 42.9 percent to 38.7 percent.
“It’s possible candidate Lee Jae-myung will come from behind in next week’s polls,” a key member of the DP campaign said.
“All the swing voters who wished for a candidacy merger and change of government but did not support candidate Yoon Suk-yeol are likely to have been disappointed by today’s events,” the official said.
Source: Yonhap News Agency