hankyoreh

DUP candidate Moon Jae-in sits in a circle labelled "progressive"

By Kim Bo-hyeop, staff reporter

When one looks at Ahn Cheol-soo announcement of his presidential candidacy, it is clear that he is not targeting liberals or conservatives. Politically, he is asking the support of those who are neither with the Democratic United Party (DUP) nor the New Frontier Party (NFP). He wants the support of moderates who do not associate with any party. In his Sept. 19 press conference, Ahn proposed ending the politics of division and confrontation, then with that integrative momentum opening a new future. In this sense he was criticizing both ruling and opposition without distinction.

Ahn said that he’d like to march forward “with everyone working hard for the country, instead of for an organization or power.” He used a big part of his remarks to convey a message that criticized the current political powers and call for a change to this trend. This is somewhat different from his position a year ago when he isolated the ruling party by saying that he “opposed the ruling power’s political expansionism.” Today’s message appeared to say, however, that he was not going to sway in either direction, neither conservative nor liberal, and that he will maintain a middle of the road, moderate stance. This is the position that he had expressed during his special lecture at Seoul National University last March.

Ahn also maintained his moderate stance when discussing the policy lines of the two major parties. Though both parties are calling for economic democracy, as Ahn insinuated, the DUP is only insisting on chaebol reform, while the NFP are adamant about market reforms. “It is difficult to change the world with such a fundamentalist approach. Economic democracy and welfare can happen only when the momentum of growth is in full swing. They are like the wheels of a bicycle,” Ahn said. By this, Ahn was implying that both policies lack the comprehensiveness of his “New Economic Model.”

Ahn also tried to differentiate himself from the parties on inter-Korean relations. He said, “The establishment of a peace system is possible when it is balanced with stable security.” By this Ahn has set himself apart from the DUP policy that concentrates only on South-North reconciliation and cooperation with little consideration of national security or universal human rights in North Korea. At the same time, he also distinguished himself from the NFP’s emphasis on security with little interest in creating a peace system on the peninsula. This was Ahn’s way of separating himself from both parties, setting himself as an advocate of a new value that balances both security and peace. This attempt is a reflection of his confidence in the support from those who stand in the middle of the spectrum.

However, “the third way” that Ahn has chosen is a political line that has been tried several times in the past but has not succeeded. The late Chung Ju-yung, founder and chairman of the Hyundai group tried it in 1992 and Yuhan Kimberley Chairman Moon Kuk-hyun in 2007 as both former businessmen ran for the presidency.

Though the ground separating liberals and conservatives may look wide, as the election approaches and competition heats up, instead of the middle growing larger, it gets smaller with many moving toward the ends of the spectrum. Entering politics with the illusion of receiving support from the moderates and non-partisans is like building a house on sand.

Ahn himself said of this, “There is a clash between the old system and new values in Korea at the moment.” He has made the declaration to be the one who gains strength from a power that pursues this new value while pushing away the old system represented by the division between liberal and conservative and the two main parties.

This positioning of himself at the middle of the political spectrum may be a move to expand his support base. And in a setting where Park Geun-hye has most conservative votes and Moon Jae-in has most liberals, this way of aiming for moderates and non-partisans is the way to maximize his value as a neophyte politician.

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