South Chungcheong Province Gov. An Hee-jung, a presidential aspirant of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, on Wednesday lashed out at front-runner Moon Jae-in, accusing him of a smear campaign.

The governor’s fiery tone was seen as not only a reflection of emotional disapproval against his rival, but also a drastic move to rake up anti-Moon votes ahead of the party’s primary to determine a final candidate for the upcoming presidential election.

“(Moon and his camp officials) are lenient with themselves but hard on others. They consider their own remarks as policy discussions, while denouncing the criticism of others as negative campaigning,” An wrote via his Facebook account at around 2 a.m. Wednesday.

“With such an attitude, (Moon) may neither rise to power and achieve change of government, nor successfully operate state affairs.”

An’s infuriated post was released after a television debate of the party’s presidential aspirants on the previous afternoon. It also came just before Moon and An were set to visit the Jeolla provinces, a core political stronghold likely to determine the outcome of the primary.

According to a survey released by local pollster Realmeter on Wednesday, Moon’s approval rating from the party’s electors stood at 52.9 percent, more than double that of An at 25.1 percent. Seongnam Mayor Lee Jae-myung came up next with 19.5 percent.

Moon also obtained 48.9 percent of support from the symbolic progressive-leaning Honam region -- the nation’s southwest Gwangju and Jeolla provinces, where the party candidates are to face a regional primary over the upcoming weekend.

Should Moon fail to obtain a majority vote nationwide, he is to face a final race with the No. 2 candidate, but even in such a case Moon has been counted as the most likely winner, against either An or Lee, surveys showed.

An, who rapidly rose to popularity amid the fall of former President Park and the likelihood of an earlier-than-planned presidential election, has recently come under fire for his disputed choices of words.

The heaviest blow came from the expression “good will,” which he used to describe the last two conservative state leaders.

“I believe that (former Presidents Lee and Park) intended to work for the sake of the people, with good will at heart, though things did not turn out as they planned,” An said in a talk with students at Pusan National University last month.

His suggestion of “grand solidarity” also triggered backlash from those within the liberal camp who saw the move as a political compromise and “betrayal” of the progressive identity.

While tension grew between Moon and An, both of whom once were aides to former liberal President Roh Moo-hyun, it was a Moon aide who snapped at An and let out his resentment.

“We are perplexed by (An’s) negative campaigning,” Rep. Kim Tae-nyeon, a key official of Moon’s election camp, said Monday in an online statement addressing the governor.

“An hasn’t been himself lately, stirring internal divides and making negative attacks.”

Meanwhile, Moon has largely reserved direct comments on the issue, only urging the party and its candidates to refrain from mudslinging.

“Our adversary is the corrupt power structure and those with vested rights, and in order to win, it is crucial that we should stick together as a team,” he told reporters Wednesday.

Facing the May 9 presidential election, the Democratic Party is slated to announce its candidate on April 3, upon the aggregated result of regional primaries starting this week.

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