hankyoreh

People’s Party candidate for president Ahn Cheol-soo addresses Democratic Party presidential nominee Lee Jae-myung during a presidential debate hosted by the National Election Commission on March 2. (pool photo)

The Democratic Party was left in a state of shock after news broke Thursday that People Power Party presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol and People’s Party candidate Ahn Cheol-soo had reached a deal to field a single opposition candidate.

The Democratic Party previously viewed the prospects of the two candidates reaching a deal on a single candidate as being “dead in the water.” While the agreement places the party at more of a disadvantage in the election, some are watching for the possibility that it could end up rallying Democratic Party supporters amid the backlash over what some are calling an “unjustifiable” alliance.

Previously, Democratic Party nominee Lee Jae-myung had courted Ahn with various political reform proposals and calls for a unified administration. The surprise decision by Ahn to back out and endorse Yoon left the ruling party palpably despondent.

“What do you expect me to say?” said one Democratic Party election committee official in a telephone interview with the Hankyoreh on Thursday.

Another official acknowledged, “The race has become more disadvantageous. It’s starting to feel futile.”

At the same time, they stressed, “Ahn Cheol-soo had no justification for his late-night about-face that came without any kind of a rational process behind it, and there is a possibility that the heightened sense of crisis on our side could help lead to a turnaround.”

During a radio interview with MBC the same day, Youn Kun-young, head of political affairs for the Democratic Party election committee, commented on Yoon and Ahn’s declaration.

“It goes without saying that we weren’t expecting it. We didn’t think they were going to manage it, but they reached a deal on a single candidate,” he said.

At the same time, he predicted that the deal could help rally Democratic Party voters.

“When Chung Mong-joon reached a deal and pulled out in 2002, a lot of people said that would be disadvantageous to Roh Moo-hyun, but it ended up helping to rally supporters and shift the moderate vote,” he noted, suggesting that the deal could end up rallying would-be Lee Jae-myung voters.

Youn also suggested there could be a “serious backlash if the public does not support the decision reached by Yoon Suk-yeol and Ahn Cheol-soo.”

“It remains to be seen whether it is perceived as the two sides being fickle and dividing the spoils of power, or as a decision by the people for the sake of the future,” he said.

Some have also suggested the deal could shift popular support toward Lee’s direction in the Honam region made up of Jeolla provinces and Gwangju.

“In Honam, there have been some people who leaned toward Ahn because they were a bit hesitant about Lee but couldn’t stomach voting for Yoon,” said one Democratic Party official.

“We anticipate that the deal could end up rallying their votes behind Lee,” they added.

By Song Chae Kyung-hwa, staff reporter

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