Ahn urges Yoon to make a decision on unifying candidacies

Kicking off the official campaign period, minor opposition People’s Party presidential candidate Ahn Cheol-soo chose Daegu as the first spot on Tuesday, targeting conservative voters. As for unifying candidacies with the main opposition People Power Party’s presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol, Ahn said he hopes that Yoon makes his decision as soon as possible.

After starting his campaign on the Beomeo crossroads in Daegu on Tuesday, Ahn visited the birthplace of former President Park Chung-hee. Ahn stressed that he will create a second miracle on the Han River in the era of the fourth industrial revolution as the former president Park achieved a miracle on the Han River in the industrialization era. Ahn then headed to the Jungang Market and addressed the citizens there from a campaign truck. “The country now has only one change left with two outs in the bottom of the ninth,” said Ahn. “I will serve as the clean-up man, who hits a home-run.”

Regarding the issue of pardoning former President Lee Myung-bak, Ahn catered to conservative voters by saying he thinks it is right to suspend the execution of his sentence for the sake of national unity.

As for the stalled discussion on unifying candidacies, Ahn aimed directly at Yoon. When asked whether he is negotiating with Yoon under the table, Ahn said the ball is on Yoon’s court now as he has been waiting for an answer after he proposed fielding a unified candidate in the opposition bloc.

“Since a presidential candidate made the suggestion, the presidential candidate from the main opposition party should say he is willing to do so or not. During his campaign on Tuesday, Yoon did not mention anything about unifying candidacies with Ahn.


Kyung-Suk Kang coolup@donga.com