Independent presidential candidate Ahn Cheol-soo on Tuesday called for the reduction of parliamentary seats and state subsidies for political parties, and the abolishment of the central party system.

Ahn unveiled key elements of his political platform, which is seen as critical criteria for potentially unifying candidacy with opposition Democratic United Party nominee Moon Jae-in.

Ahn said that the measures form the basis for his goal of relinquishing the privileges of those in power, which is one of the three pillars of his political reform plans along with cooperative politics and direct democracy.

“The number of National Assembly members need to be reduced to increase efficiency,” Ahn told students at Inha University in Incheon.

Saying that the number of lawmakers is not the factor that is hampering politicians from achieving goals, Ahn pointed to the ruling party, which has the majority in the National Assembly, as the main reason for the lack of progress in recent years.

“Along with cutting the number of seats, the number of proportional representatives should be increased. A diverse range of groups and underprivileged groups need to be able to have their voices heard in the National Assembly.”

He added that reducing the number of seats can cut costs by 50 billion to 100 billion won ($45 million to $90 million), which can be directed into other “useful” areas. 

Regarding the government subsidy for political parties, Ahn said that the practice came into use in the 1980s during the dictatorial rule of President Chun Doo-hwan as a means to placate the opposition party, and that reducing the fund could free up resources for various welfare projects.

“Third is the central party system. It needs to be abolished to change the culture of mob politics,” he said.

“The central party has exercised the power of nomination (for general elections). Lawmakers can’t help but be weary of this, and become unquestioning supporters of party policies. As long as the power of nomination exists, a politician can’t act according to their beliefs.”

The announcement comes two days after the launch of Democratic United Party candidate Moon Jae-in’s political reform committee and the mass resignation of pro-Roh Moo-hyun officials from the DUP campaign.

While the two candidates’ policies are taking on more detail, the issue of a possible merger of the two campaigns remains unclear despite Ahn’s camp appearing to be warming to the idea.

Until recently Ahn had remained mostly silent on the issue saying only that “true political reform” must be achieved before the matter can be discussed.

On Oct. 19, however, Ahn spoke out saying “(I) will win and run to the end” if the merger occurs due to public demand.

The former academic’s campaign aides have also become more vocal about the issue since.

“If the public suggests the process for a merger, the candidate who can win (in the presidential election) should be selected. (The public) thinks Ahn is the candidate who can change both the regime and politics,” Park Sun-sook, co-chair of Ahn’s campaign committee, said on Monday.

For its part, the DUP reiterated its view on the merger following Moon’s meeting with Rep. Chung Se-kyun and Kim Doo-kwan, who ran against him in the preliminaries.

“There was agreement (in the meeting) that unifying the campaign with Ahn is absolutely necessary, and that the process should be conducted around Moon and the party,” said Rep. Jin Sung-joon, Moon’s campaign spokesman.

Just as the DUP continued to push its view on the merger, Ahn’s camp appears to be sticking to its initial position that a merger needs careful consideration.

By Choi He-suk (cheesuk@heraldcorp.com)