Park regroups, Moon gains momentum as Ahn starts tour


With the clock ticking until the Dec. 19 election day, the presidential candidates are sharpening their campaigns in the knowledge that the slightest misstep could lose votes in the cut-throat race.

The ruling Saenuri Party’s Rep. Park Geun-hye gained an edge against her progressive contenders over the national Chuseok holiday, with her support rating slightly up in the latest polls by Realmeter. The main opposition Democratic United Party’s Rep. Moon Jae-in also rebounded in popularity, while independent Ahn Cheol-soo suffered a slight drop in his numbers.

The three are yet to publicly butt heads over their policy pledges and are, for the time being, fixed on courting a wider electorate.

Park plans to set in stone her image as a “president who is ready,” by releasing her socio-economic pledges, starting with the “Smart-New Deal” vision. The plan aims to converge IT and science technology with existing industries to create a large number of high-quality jobs.

In an attempt to escape controversy over her historical views, Park also plans to arrange a visit to the bereaved families of former civic activists. Her aides, meanwhile, are expected to focus on attacking political novice Ahn such as through the national audit session being held on Oct. 5-24.

“What the people want is sincerity in politics. The people will sternly discern any image created through marketing,” said the Saenuri Party’s secretary-general and head of election headquarters, Rep. Suh Byung-soo.

Expanding her support beyond her conservative base remains Park’s key challenge, despite her slight popularity rise over the holidays.

Moon is focused on widening the composition of his campaign team to expedite political reform. His camp on Wednesday released a new list of members of the “Citizen’s Camp,” one of the three election campaign teams, to focus on devising social pledges.

“With the confidence that our effort (for reform) has resonated among the people, we have confidently set the direction of our campaign toward change and innovation and we will continue to show (our efforts) this week,” said Rep. Woo Sang-ho, head of Moon’s communications team.

Moon’s challenge is to improve his standing not only against veteran contender Park but also trailblazing Ahn in the lead up to a potential opposition alliance.

Ahn, meanwhile, is set on shifting the focus away from opponents’ attacks toward his policy ideas. Sources from Ahn’s camp said the former software mogul will be announcing his administration vision in early November. Ahn has also set off on a regional tour with a three-day visit to Jeolla Province on Wednesday.

“I think I will be able to organize my thoughts by meeting and talking with the people from places that I have not been before, on how to solve their hardships and how to prioritize them,” Ahn said during a visit to Yeosu.

Ahn’s team has gone on the counterattack following news reports of alleged irregularities including suspected plagiarism of his 1990 doctorate thesis.

Ahn will also face offensives from Saenuri Party lawmakers during the audit session this month. He does not have any incumbent lawmaker on his team to ward off any attacks.

While attention on the potential alliance between Moon and Ahn remains high, prospects for an immediate move remain murky.

Ahn, determined to secure the upper hand in the partnership, is avoiding any alliance-related questions. Observers indicate that alliance talks will not begin until mid-November, despite the DUP’s agitation.

Of the 1,500 respondents in a survey by Realmeter late Tuesday, 40.6 percent preferred Ahn as the single opposition candidate, while 38.4 percent supported Moon. Their gap had narrowed by 2.2 percentage points.

In a hypothetical one-on-one race, Ahn’s rating was 50.5 percent against Park’s 43.8 percent. Although Ahn remained in the lead, his rating declined by 1.1 percentage point while Park’s numbers surged by 2.6 percentage points compared to a week ago. In a race between Moon and Park, Moon earned 48.4 percent against Park’s 45.5 percent.

In a three-way race, Park came first with 36.4 percent, followed by Ahn’s 29.5 percent and Moon’s 23.4 percent.

Another survey by Media Research of 1,000 respondents showed Ahn also leading Park in a two-way race, 47.4 percent to 44.7 percent as of Monday. In a three-way race, Park remained in front with 39.1 percent, followed by Ahn with 29.4 percent and Moon with 22.5 percent. While Park and Moon’s ratings increased, Ahn’s declined from a week ago.

By Lee Joo-hee (jhl@heraldcorp.com)