Former presidential candidate Ahn Cheol-soo met with his campaign officials Wednesday after five days in seclusion since his withdrawal from the presidential race.

But he remained vague about his position about whether he will support the main opposition Democratic United Party candidate Moon Jae-in, officials said.

Ahn disappeared from public view after announcing his resignation last Friday.

“I sincerely thank all of my supporters. I owe you a great debt of gratitude,” Ahn was quoted as saying by his spokesperson Yoo Min-young.

“From now on, I will not make decisions on my own, but put myself in the shoes of those who support me.”

He then left Seoul, without specifying his plans, officials said.

It has thus become uncertain whether the election camp disbanding ceremony will indeed take place within the week as earlier speculated. The event was originally slated for Tuesday but was suddenly put off due to the agitated responses from Ahn’s supporters.

While Ahn continued his seclusion, his camp in Jongno was effectively shut down on Wednesday as officials removed the gigantic banner with Ahn’s face from the outer wall and locked out the press room.

Ahn’s silence caused impatience in many, especially to the main opposition Democratic United Party candidate Moon Jae-in, who is desperate for the considerable number of swing votes in favor of Ahn.

As the independent candidate dramatically announced his resignation Friday, many of the moderate voters either turned critical of Moon or even bounced back to conservative candidate Park Geun-hye.

Eyes and ears alert for any possible moves, Moon made a series of pacifying gestures to Ahn, suggesting a run-off election and pledging to include his key political reform ideas in the DUP’s election slogans.

As Ahn prolonged his silence, however, speculation also rose that the political rookie may spare himself in the Dec. 19 race and challenge the parliamentary by-election next year, or even create a new political party.

Ahn, upon announcing his presidential bid back in September, said that he would continue to live his life as a politician, regardless of the election results.

Meanwhile, the National Election Commission said that Ahn, even if he did participate in Moon’s campaigns, would be limited in his actions by the public election law.

Unless designated as an official speaker, he would not be allowed to hold talk concerts or make public speeches in Moon’s support, according to officials.

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