The presidential race tightened after the Chuseok holidays as the ruling Saenuri Party’s nominee Park Geun-hye boosted her approval rating, closing the gap with Ahn Cheol-soo, who struggled to quell controversy over tax dodging and plagiarism allegations.

According to a poll conducted on Monday by Media Research and the Chosun Ilbo, Park gained on Ahn in a two-way matchup to within the margin of error, with 44.7 percent to 47.4 percent.

A week before Chuseok, the right-wing candidate had lost momentum and was behind the independent candidate by 8.7 points, likely due to series of financial scandals involving her close aides.

She also regained her lead over Rep. Moon Jae-in of the main opposition Democratic United Party, though the gap was yet minimal ― 46.4 percent to 46.1 percent.

In a hypothetical three-way race, too, Park upped her support from 38.5 percent to 39.1 percent, whereas Ahn’s numbers fell slightly, the poll showed.

Upon this upturn, Park summoned the key figures of her election camp on Monday to discuss detailed campaign plans.

“Park took a good start in the presidential race but her slogan of social integration faded amid the disputes over her historical stance and her aides’ irregularity scandals,” said an official of her election camp.

“It is now time for her to make a second take-off, by recruiting fresh members to the camp and achieving unity.”

Moon and Ahn, too, braced themselves for the upcoming race against Park, as well as for the potential one against each other.

The DUP candidate visited the Moran Park in Maseok, Gyeonggi Province, on Tuesday to pay his respects to the graves of democracy fighters Kim Keun-tae and Jeon Tae-il.

He also met with family members of those killed under the Yushin Constitution, ushered in by Park Chung-hee, former president and the Saenuri candidate’s deceased father.

Ahn paid a courtesy visit to Lee Hee-ho, the widow of former liberal President Kim Dae-jung, a routine political procedure for left-wing candidates.

The two Busan-based figures especially focused on gaining the voters’ favor in the southwestern Honam region, which has traditionally been the left-wing party’s stronghold.

By Bae Hyun-jung (tellme@heraldcorp.com)