The factor that adds a touch of youth and vigor to the election campaign of independent presidential candidate Ahn Cheol-soo is the active role of his supporters.

On Saturday, Ahn appeared at a concert held by the Happys, one of his biggest fan clubs and the only one that directly communicates with his election camp.

Though the candidate often held on-the-spot meetings with his supporters, this was the first time he showed up at an official fan club event.

“Happys stands for Happy Christmas after the presidential election,” said secretary-general Oh Tae-yang.

“We hope that the Dec. 19 race ends in a festive mood, to brighten up the future of the country.”

The group was kicked off in September, shortly before Ahn announced his presidential bid, by some 100 volunteers who donated their talents to his Youth Concert, a series of talk shows he held at universities across the nation.

Over the past two months, it has rapidly grown into an extensive group of 7,000 members, most of them being young voters in their 20s and 30s.

“We may only be a non-profit, unofficial fan club for Ahn but we have visible influence, especially on the Internet and SNS plane,” Oh said.

Happys, however, face many legal restrictions as the group is regarded as a private organization according to the public election law and therefore may not involve itself in the election campaign.

“It is a pity that the law should set excessive limits on various forms of political expression,” Oh said.

The fan club pledges to support Ahn to the end but nevertheless remained rather vague on its future plans, especially with the possibility of candidacy unification.

“Our goal is to focus on the ‘Ahn Cheol-soo syndrome’ rather than the person himself,” he said.

“Ahn represents the public’s distrust with conventional politics, and we hope to convert that negative energy into a positive driving force which may change our society.”

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