By Kang Hyun-kyung
Some supporters of IT mogul Ahn Cheol-soo have begun looking to Moon Jae-in, a confidant of the late former President Roh Moo-hyun, as their preferred presidential candidate as their patience is wearing thin with Ahn’s indecisiveness.
Recent polls show Moon’s ratings have continued to soar since January, whereas Ahn’s figures are weakening although he still enjoys robust support.
Yoon Hee-woong, a senior fellow of the Korea Society Opinion Institute based in Seoul, said liberal voters and people, who had previously displayed political apathy as they were sick and tired of old politics and political mudslinging, are two major groups backing the computer expert.
“In January, Ahn indicated his unwillingness to consider a move into politics after returning to Seoul from a trip to the United States. After this, some liberal voters showed signs of withdrawing their support from him to back Moon,” he said.
“They began to look to Moon as a potential presidential candidate who can represent the liberal camp as he was the late Roh’s aide and played an important role while the former President was in office. Before this, liberal voters leaned toward Ahn as they believed there were few viable candidates on the liberal side.”
Moon, chairman of the Roh Moo-hyun foundation, is running in the National Assembly elections slated for April 11 in Busan on the main opposition Democratic United Party ticket.
The second biggest city is the home turf of the ruling Saenuri Party and Moon’s bid to become a lawmaker in the conservative district is seen as a high-stakes poker game for him.
The other side of the coin is that the 59-year-old could prove himself as a strong liberal politician by surviving the tough campaign landscape.
He is cautious over his possible presidential bid as he wants to focus on the parliamentary election. But campaign watchers say chances for him to declare a presidential bid after winning the elections are high, should his ratings be robust.
A recent poll by internet media outlet Oh My News, released on Jan. 31, found support for Moon stood at 25 percent, compared to 22.7 percent for Ahn.
The results came as a surprise as Roh’s former aide marked only 17.2 percent of support in a poll taken by the same firm a month ago, compared to 30.3 percent for Ahn.
Pollsters have pointed to the fact Ahn, also dean of the Graduate School of Science Technology and Convergence of Seoul National University, has remained coy on his political ambitions during the time period as the reason for his falling ratings.
The founder of the anti-virus software company AhnLab, has not flatly denied media reports that he is geared up for a presidential campaign.
In January, he told reporters at the airport that he would be thinking deeply about whether he would participate in politics or not during his trip to the United States. His remarks were construed as meaning that he was interested.
On his way back home, Ahn told reporters that he was not sure if people like him need to join politics. People took this to mean that he might give up on the possibility of moving into politics.
Earlier this week, the computer expert met reporters again to unveil the action plan of his foundation. He said there were various ways that he could make a difference in the community and that politics could be one of them.
Analysts say his switching positions, although subtle, has made some of his supporters look to other candidates like Moon.