New claims about independent Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo’s demands for supporting the Democratic Party’s Rep. Moon Jae-in in last year’s presidential election surfaced Thursday, rekindling an almost yearlong argument between the two sides.
According to DP Rep. Hong Young-pyo, who was Moon’s chief campaign aide, Ahn demanded that Moon join him in founding a new party and give him sole authority in political reform in return for merging the two campaigns.
The claims have been disputed by Ahn’s associates, including former campaign aide and lawyer Keum Tae-sup.
“These people (Moon’s side) never turn the blame on others. It is now tiresome,” Keum wrote on his Twitter account on Thursday. Keum also wrote that blaming Ahn for the election defeat was illogical.
In the run up to the Dec. 19 election, Ahn conceded in favor of Moon after months of negotiations. The claims, made in Hong’s new book describing the details of the talks, reignited the argument between the two sides that has repeatedly sprung up and subsided since the election.
In March, Moon’s supporters claimed Ahn requested that Moon refer to him as “future president” after the two campaigns merged.
Ahn has also been alleged to have offered to join the DP if Moon would end his campaign in favor of the political newcomer.
koreaherald@heraldcorp.com
