hankyoreh

Dec. 6. (by Shin So-young

By Lee Tae-hee, staff reporter 　

Ahn Cheol-soo is giving his unconditional support to Democratic United Party presidential candidate Moon Jae-in.

A first show of support comes on Dec. 7 when the AhnLab founder visits Busan to canvass on Moon’s behalf.

Ahn’s decision resolves the issue of a united opposition front, which had remained in question over the two weeks since Ahn bowed out of the presidential race. Analysts said it is likely to have a significant impact on the outcome of the election, which is now 13 days away.

Moon and Ahn reached their agreement to join forces for an opposition election win after meeting at a restaurant in Seoul’s Central district at 4:20 pm on Dec. 6.

“Ahn Cheol-soo told me he would offer his full-fledged support and work actively for my campaign,” Moon said after the meeting. “I think that all the South Koreans who want a change in government and a new politics are united now.”

Ahn said their alliance would be “a major watershed in the presidential election. I will do everything I can to realize what so many people are hoping for.”

The half-hour meeting came after Ahn called Moon personally at one o’clock that afternoon. Their respective chiefs of staff, Cho Kwang-hee and Noh Young-min, met beforehand to hash out their opinions.

Ahn also voiced active support for Moon prior to the meeting. Spokesman Yoo Min-young made a plea before the meeting for Ahn’s supporters to back Moon.

“We are finishing the agreements for a united opposition candidate and backing Moon Jae-in for a presidential victory,” Yoo said on Ahn’s behalf. “We believe that everyone who supported us will join us in this.”

Just before the meeting, Ahn himself said he would be a “giving tree” to the South Korean public.

At their Dec. 6 meeting, Moon and Ahn agreed to work closely together after the election on crisis resolution and a “new politics.”

Moon made pledges to this effect at the inaugural ceremony of a “people’s solidarity” aimed at ending the Saenuri Party’s grip on power and bringing a new politics to the country. The event took place at 9 pm on Dec. 6 at the Kim Koo Museum and Library in Seoul.

Quoting the alliance’s declaration, he said, “I promise that my first step after winning this election will be to work with this organization to plan and execute a new politics and joint governance.”

He went on to say that if elected, he planned to “set up a ‘dream team’” of a Cabinet that crossed regional and factional lines to work for successful governance.

Analysts said the agreement for close cooperation after the election would open the way for Ahn and his supporters to play a role in the Cabinet if Moon is elected.

Moon also hinted at major post-election changes for after the election, saying the new politics would entail “party reforms, an end to factionalist politics, an end to divisive politics, party democracy and a central role for the National Assembly, the abandoning of all privileges, and the birth of a new party.”

Ahn’s choice of Busan as the site of his first support rally, as well as Moon’s own plans to canvass there, draw attention to the battleground South Gyeongsang region’s potentially decisive impact on the election.

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