Upstart pres. contender to announce plans Wed. afternoon

Upstart pres. contender to announce plans Wed. afternoon. September. 18, 2012 22:19. egija@donga.com.

Heavy speculation is surrounding Ahn Cheol-soo, a leading potential presidential candidate who will hold a news conference Wednesday to announce whether he will run for Korea`s highest office.

Every word he will deliver will determine the landscape of the presidential race, a testament to the pathetic situation of Korean politics just three months before the election.

If Ahn officially announces his presidential bid, the election schedule will see a drastic change. The structure of a two-way presidential race was formulated just 94 days before the election after the ruling Saenuri Party nominated Rep. Park Geun-hye as its standard-bearer on Aug. 20 and the main opposition Democratic United Party appointed Moon Jae-in as its candidate Sunday. Should Ahn join the foray, the election schedule will require another major revamp.

The opposition camp’s bid to field a unified candidate remains all the more unpredictable in that both Moon and Ahn have no reason to hurry. Chances are high that the two will wait and see to closely examine voter sentiment after the Chuseok holidays early next month, when public opinions are expected to undergo a major shift.

Members of the minor opposition Unified Progressive Party who recently defected from the party also pledged to field a presidential candidate, which could serve as another variable.

A unified candidate for the broader opposition camp could come after the date for candidate registration (Nov. 25-26). Hence, many analysts warn that the opposition camp’s campaign to unify its candidate could prove to be a black hole that overwhelms what should be a race of policy.

For one, Moon is pledging job creation, which used to largely be the ruling party’s agenda, while Park is giving as her top promise economic democratization, generally a key slogan of the opposition. The two candidates could fiercely debate over specific ways to tackle the issues, but the political circle is focused on calculating the gains and losses for their parties according to a variety of scenarios.

Under this circumstance, demands by academia and civic groups “to galvanize a race of policy” will fall on deaf ears.

Another election paradox is that the more intense and disputed the tug-of-war in the opposition camp to unify the candidate, the more attention it will draw. The ruling party is also expected to label its rival`s bid as a deceitful plot that will cause campaigns of negative propaganda.

Experts say that if Moon and Ahn hold negotiations to unify the opposition camp`s candidate, this will be a gesture of minimum respect to voters for the two to announce related schedules in advance.