Roh and Chung Reached Full Agreement over Procedure for Single Candidacy

Roh Moo-hyun, presidential candidate of the Millennium Democratic Party (MDP), and Chung Mong-joon, presidential candidate of National Alliance 21 (NA21) decided to pick a single candidate between them according to the results of opinion polls to be conducted, Nov. 24-25, by 5 pollsters after 3-4 rounds of debates take place, Nov. 20-23, on TV.

Each team in both parties to promote the single candidacy made the decision together after they had a working meeting from 9:00 p.m. on Nov. 16 to 4:00 a.m. on Nov.17 at a hotel in downtown Seoul.

If the single candidacy talks succeed in picking a single candidate, the election campaign race is expected to become a fierce two-way competition, in which Lee Hoi-chang, presidential nominee of the majority Grand National Party (GNP), and Roh or Chung are competing.

As for ways of opinion polls, which were at the center of differences between them, they are reported to have decided to ask respondents which candidate they will choose and then ask them which one between Roh and Chung should be selected in order to prevent the GNP’s possible manipulation of public opinions.

Among the results of opinion polls conducted by 5 pollsters, the two with the widest gap between the approval ratings of the two candidates and the smallest one will be excluded. Then the average of the remaining three polls will decide which one will be picked, though the average result is within margin of error.

However, the two parties’ negotiating teams for the single candidacy reached conclusions that they would not disclose the 5 pollsters and ways of polling in detail until a single candidate is chosen on the ground that it could influence the polling.

The two parties made a written agreement including those contents, made it confirmed by the two candidates and commissioned the 5 pollsters to conduct polls.

They also agreed that the one who was not chosen as a single candidate would lead the joint election preparation committee between them for joint election campaigns. Details on joint debate sessions on TV will be decided in consultation with TV broadcasting companies.

Young-Chan Yoon yyc11@donga.com