Ahn Cheol-soo, who announced his bid for the presidency Wednesday, is a political newcomer who professes to pursue political reform as an alternative to tainted representative politics ― more specifically, party politics tainted by corruption and the pursuit of partisan interests.
With his approval ratings rivaling those of the presidential nominees from the ruling and opposition parties, Ahn regards his lack of experience in politics as usual not as a liability but an asset. He believes he is better positioned to pursue political reform precisely because he has not been associated with any political party. At the same time, he believes his political inexperience will be offset by the diverse career experiences he has had as a medical doctor, computer vaccine programmer, businessman and a university faculty member.
“I have had no political experience, organization and force yet,” he said. “As such, I’m not (politically) indebted to anyone. I will cherish what people have told me, and I would never distribute appointments to public office as spoils.”
At Wednesday’s news conference, he said politics is creating problems, instead of solving them, and that the quality of life will not improve unless politics is reformed. Few would disagree with his diagnosis, given what they have witnessed ― the high-profile cases of corruption involving politicians, frequent eruptions of violence during the legislative process, and ceaseless, inconsequential squabbles among parties.
But the problem with his news conference was that the message he wanted to get across to the electorate lacked substance. He did not disclose what he meant by political reform and how he was planning to pursue it.
Undoubtedly, he intends to flesh out his idea of political reform and make other policy proposals in specific terms during his campaign. But there will not be too much time for civic organizations, news media and other groups to vet all his policy proposals, given that just three months are left until the presidential election.
Another issue of great concern to the electorate is whether he will make it to the election as an independent or pursue an alliance with Moon Jae-in, the presidential nominee of the opposition Democratic United Party, which he has alluded to in the past. Moon hopes that a nominee will be selected from between him and Ahn either through negotiations or a national primary.
Here again, Ahn did not give any clear-cut answers to reporters’ questions. Instead, he suggested ambiguous conditions for joining hands with Moon for a unified candidacy ― Moon’s commitment to political reform and its approval by the public. He did so probably because he did not intend to pursue any alliance immediately. He said, “It is not appropriate to discuss a unified candidacy at the moment.”
But the pursuit of an alliance with Moon would prove to be a double-edged sword for Ahn. On the one hand, Ahn, if selected as the nominee in this manner, could rely on the opposition party to support his campaign. On the other, he would have to cross a minefield until his selection as the party’s standard-bearer. In the process, he would certainly lose much of his freshness as an untainted newcomer.
