Moon Jae-in, a surging presidential candidate of the liberal opposition, aims to prove his mettle in Busan.

He is running for a parliamentary seat there in the port city where no liberal politician, even the former President Roh Moo-hyun, has won.

Moon, a lifelong friend and aide to Roh and now head of a foundation named after the late liberal leader, has registered his candidacy for the April 11 general election in a constituency of Sasang, a industrial district in the southern port city.

At stake for him is not just a parliamentary seat.

A victory on enemy turf could convince the country’s liberals that the 59-year-old political novice can beat Park Geun-hye, chairwoman of the ruling Saenuri Party, in a presidential race at the end of the year.

“The wind is different this time” is his campaign slogan. The Korean word for wind, “baram,” also means a wish or hope.

Indeed, Moon appears to have a strong wind on his back.

His popularity has soared in recent weeks, while potential rivals stagnated.

A recent poll of presidential hopefuls released Tuesday put Moon ahead of Park for the first time, although within the margin of error.

According to Realmeter, a local pollster, Moon garnered 44.9 percent of support against Park’s 44.4 percent in a one-on-one showdown between a ruling and an opposition candidate.

In a three-person race, Moon came in third after Park at 31.2 percent and software guru Ahn Cheol-soo at 21.2 percent, garnering 19.3 percent. In a poll conducted by another firm, he topped Ahn, a left-leaning professor of Seoul National University who was once regarded as the liberal opposition’s best chance at ousting conservatives from power.

“The rise of Moon is not a temporary phenomenon,” said Lee Taek-soo, head of Realmeter, pointing out that his approval ratings have risen for four consecutive weeks. Left-leaning voters have started to consider Moon a valid alternative to Ahn Cheol-soo who is sticking to an ambiguous stance about his political ambitions, he said.

Political pundits also say that Moon managed to raise his profile through public activities including a TV talk show appearance last month.

On the prime-time show, he appealed to potential voters with an image of being frank, down-to-earth and sticking to principles, which also helped drive up his poll numbers, the pundits say.

Yet, it remains to be seen whether the momentum will stay strong enough to get him elected in Busan, a traditional stronghold of the ruling Saenuri Party. The party has yet to put forth a candidate to counter Moon.

By Lee Sun-young
(milaya@heraldcorp.com)