hankyoreh

Nov. 6. (by Lee Jeong-woo

By Seok Jin-hwan and Kim Bo-hyeop, staff reporters

Moon Jae-in and Ahn Cheol-soo agreed on Nov. 6 to a plan for one of them to drop out of the presidential race before the candidate registration dates of Nov. 25 and 26.

The decision came during a one-on-one meeting between Moon, the Democratic United Party (DUP) candidate, and Ahn, an independent, 43 days before the Dec. 19 election.

Moon and Ahn also announced seven points of agreement, including a plan to announce a joint declaration on political reform.

The two met at 6 pm and talked alone for an hour and 15 minutes at the Kim Koo Museum and Library in Seoul’s Hyochang neighborhood. The agreement points they announced after the meeting made no mention of any specific procedure for talks to narrow the field to a single opposition candidate against the Saenuri Party’s Park Geun-hye, but did produce some tangible results, including an agreement on the need for a “value-based” integration of camps that went beyond an alliance of individuals, as well as a schedule for the talks and the forming of a window for discussions.

Besides their agreement to decide on a single candidate before registration, Moon and Ahn also agreed to release a “joint statement on new politics,” which would include a national solidarity combining their supporters, party reforms, and a course of action to take back the presidency from the Saenuri Party (NFP). Each candidate contributed three associates to take part in a working group drafting the declaration, with plans for the two candidates to meet again on the day of the announcement. Plans were also made for a signature campaign to have voting hours extended, a topic that has drawn major attention in recent weeks.

In their first meeting on Nov. 6, Moon and Ahn came out with a surprisingly swift agreement on a process for narrowing the field, with the twin aims of achieving political reform and replacing the Saenuri Party in office. The speed of the decision on a timeline for making a deal, as well as the development of a joint statement to “justify it,” was especially fast given that not even three days had passed since Moon openly proposed a deal to Ahn on Nov. 4 and Ahn responded the following day with his own proposal for a meeting, stating three principles for talks to arrive at a single opposition candidate.

Perhaps the most notable of the agreement points was the decision to strike a deal before the registration dates of Nov. 25 and 26, which went farther than politicians had initially predicted.

For one thing, it dispelled supporters’ concerns about the deal potentially losing its impact if it came any later. Analysts said the candidates’ goal appeared to be to maximize the deal’s impact by having it come in the later stages after each had drummed up support with campaigning prior to the registration date.

Moon and Ahn also agreed on a plan for a joint petition campaign to have polling hours extended, which observers said could be intended as a way of getting the most out of an eventual deal.

Also noteworthy was the agreement to achieve unity with members of the public opposed to the Saenuri Party staying in power. Analysts said the aim appeared to be to rally supporters who are against another Saenuri Party administration but differ in their views on the DUP.

With both candidates agreeing to release a joint statement and setting up working groups to draft it, observers are expecting to see the new groups discussing core issues, including the method for reaching an agreement on a final candidate. Moon and Ahn’s respective spokesmen Park Gwang-on and Yoo Min-young said the statement would include details about party reform and a plan for an alliance to unseat the Saenuri Party.

The plan for reaching a deal before registration day was very likely proposed by Moon. Ahn has previously shied away from deciding on a deadline. According to the DUP, this provision was added in after Moon spent some time trying to win Ahn over. However, Ahn’s camp also appeared to have been prepared to accept the deadline if their own proposals were accepted.

A key member of Ahn’s camp said, “If [Moon] accepts the new politics part and the three principles for a final candidacy deal, we can accept the rest of it.”

Observers speculated Ahn might have insisted on holding discussions first toward a joint declaration in exchange for this. The phrasing would allow him to argue in the upcoming deal-striking process for focusing on values, principles, and alliance tactics ahead of the method for deciding on a single candidate.

staff photographer)

This would mean both candidates made concessions in deciding on the seven points of agreement.

While the fourth point stated that the two would “not consider benefits and losses” in reaching a deal, the agreement does have aspects that help and hurt each candidate.

To begin with, the overall content and context of the agreement generally reflects what Ahn said during a talk at Chonnam National University the day before. For instance, the exact same wording was used in the second point (“The first step toward political reform is reducing the establishment’s privilege”) and the third (“A decision on a final candidate on the principles of an election victory and change in administration, of values and philosophy becoming one, and of changing the future”). Analysts said Ahn seemed to have secured an edge by following through with his focus on political reform, an area of continued emphasis since just after his Sept. 19 declaration of candidacy. He also bought time to focus on his own campaign without worrying about an eventual opposition candidacy deal.

Meanwhile, Moon can content himself with having dragged a somewhat reluctant Ahn into the “ring” for an eventual deal, and with having nailed down a deadline in the Nov. 6 agreement. Observers said the agreement may also have given him ammunition to quiet possible objections within his own party.

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