[Newsmaker] Ahn gears up for main race against front-runner Moon

Starting off the “primary week” leading to the main presidential race, the initial goal for most presidential aspirants has been to stand equal to unchallenged liberal front-runner Moon Jae-in.

And it was Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo of the People‘s Party who grasped this strategic position by marking a sweeping victory in his party’s primary race in the country‘s southwest Jeolla provinces over the weekend.

Rep. Ahn, founder and former co-chief of the second-biggest opposition party, recorded a landslide victory during party primaries held in Gwangju and South Jeolla Province and North Jeolla Province on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.

In the two separate sessions, he won 59,731 votes, or 64.6 percent of the ballots, far outpacing Sohn Hak-kyu and Park Joo-sun.

Though the party still faces primaries in other regions, this was considered a litmus test of the final result as the Gwangju-Jeolla region -- referred to as Honam -- is the key stronghold for the liberal-centrist party.

This proved visible momentum for the entrepreneur-turned-politician whose support rating has long been stalled over the past years.

Ahn’s first appearance as a centrist alternative in the 2012 presidential election instantly triggered fervent support from a public disillusioned with the existing politics. But his tale seemed to end in an anticlimax when he gave up on his candidacy about a month before the election and lent his support to Moon Jae-in, apparently giving in to mounting pressure for unity.

Even after potential conservative candidates -- former United Nations’ Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon and acting President Hwang Kyo-ahn – rejected bids, Ahn’s figures remained in the low 10 percent range, below rising stars such as South Chungcheong Province Gov. An Hee-jung and Seongnam Mayor Lee Jae-myung, both of the Democratic Party of Korea.

But confirming his presidential aspirations earlier this month, Ahn once again declared himself an equal adversary to Moon, just as he did in the 2012 presidential election in which he started off as an independent candidate.

The difference this year is that he is not about to give up midway and merge with Moon’s camp.

“It will be a showdown between Ahn Cheol-soo and Moon Jae-in,” Ahn said upon declaring his presidential bid, repeating Moon’s name several times during the speech and thus underlining the one-on-one rivalry.

Another achievement for Ahn is that he came to hold initiative in talks to form an anti-Moon solidarity.

Ahn has persistently rejected the idea, claiming himself as able to compete against the front-runner on his own and refusing to join hands with those who stand at odds over key values.

His solo strategy clearly marked him apart from other figures in his party who, for the sake of election victory, sought to unite with independent centrist power groups or even the conservative Bareun Party.

But now that Ahn has confirmed his status as the party’s top player, he is seen to hold the key in deciding whether to finish the presidential race or lead a solidarity effort to stand up to Moon.

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