Ahn Cheol-soo steps aside for Yoon Suk-yeol

Main opposition People Power Party presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol, left, and People's Party candidate Ahn Cheol-soo raise their hands after announcing the merger of their presidential election campaigns during a press conference at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, Thursday. Joint Press Corps

Candidates reach last-minute deal to field unified candidate

By Nam Hyun-woo

Minor center-right People's Party candidate Ahn Cheol-soo dropped out of the presidential race on Thursday, hours after he and main opposition People Power Party (PPP) candidate Yoon Suk-yeol agreed on a last-minute deal to field a unified candidate.

As a result, Yoon will run in the election as the standard-bearer of the PPP-People's Party coalition.

Yoon and Ahn closed the dramatic deal to combine their candidacies as the PPP candidate was in a tight race with ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) candidate Lee Jae-myung only six days ahead of the March 9 presidential election. Polls released on Wednesday showed that Yoon and Lee were in a close race with Ahn trailing in third place with a single-digit support.

"We, Ahn Cheol-soo and Yoon Suk-yeol, decided to be united for the sake of a change in government, to make Korea a better country," Ahn said during a joint press conference with Yoon, Thursday.

"With today's declaration to merge our candidacies, we will achieve a perfect government change in this election. Following the will of the public, we will prepare for an era of transition."

The two sides had been in a tug-of-war over merging their candidacies for nearly a month, after Ahn officially proposed on Feb. 13 that he and Yoon select a unified candidate based on surveys. Yoon, while welcoming the offer, had not responded to Ahn's request in person. After the two played a waiting game, they announced separately on Sunday that the talks for their merger had failed.

After passing the Sunday deadline, they reached a deal for the coalition early Thursday morning after the two sides spent three hours negotiating.

Those who are familiar with the overnight deal said Ahn agreed to drop out of the race unconditionally and support Yoon as a unified candidate for the coalition.

Yoon and Ahn agreed to form a coalition government if Yoon gets elected, calling it a "government of national unity."

"The government of national unity will not be run by the president alone," Ahn said. "Based on the principles of cooperative governance, we will oversee state affairs together with partners. From the presidential transition team to the coalition government, we will have consultations and hire experts without considering their political factions."

When asked if he would consider being a member of Yoon's Cabinet, Ahn answered indirectly that he has no prior experience in government, although he has served as a lawmaker for 10 years.

Ahn pulls out of race with eye on coalition government with Yoon

2022-03-03 17:02

"I will think about how I can help the nation move forward and under what capacity I can help improve the lives of the people. But, at the moment, we need to win the election. A government change is the most important thing that we have to achieve," he said.

Yoon and Ahn said their parties will be combined after the election.

"When and if we win the presidential election, we will promptly start the processes for merging the two parties," Yoon said.

A supporter holds a balloon with the names of main opposition People Power Party presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol and People's Party candidate Ahn Cheol-soo on it, during the former's public canvassing in Asan, South Chungcheong Province, Thursday, when the two candidates unified their campaigns. Yonhap

Ahn's withdrawal has shaken the presidential race, as Yoon is believed to benefit the most in the tight presidential race.

According to a survey by Ipsos released Thursday, 48.9 percent of respondents said they would support Yoon if he merged candidacies with Ahn, placing him 6.1 percentage points ahead of Lee with 42.8 percent. The survey also showed 44.9 percent of Ahn supporters would root for Yoon and 25.1 percent will go for Lee.

However, another survey tells a different story about the race.

According to research by Embrain Public, also released on Thursday, Yoon secured 45.9 percent, followed closely by Lee with 45 percent in a hypothetical two-way contest. However, the gap between Yoon and Lee widens in a four-way contest between Yoon, Lee, Ahn and Justice Party candidate Sim Sang-jung, in which Yoon garnered 43.7 percent to outpace Lee with 41.9 percent, showing that a Yoon-Ahn coalition does not necessarily result in Yoon absorbing all of Ahn's supporters.

"The timing is not bad, and the opposition can see a so-called convention effect," said Eom Gyeong-yeong, director of the Zeitgeist Institute, a private think tank. "The majority of Ahn's supporters were 20somethings and 30somethings who are critical of the Moon Jae-in government. They find themselves uncomfortable with the PPP's strong stance on gender issues. Considering this characteristic of Ahn supporters, I think more than half of Ahn supporters will go for Yoon."

The Yoon-Ahn coalition has shocked the DPK and its candidate Lee.

"I believe in history and the people," Lee told reporters hours after the Yoon-Ahn press conference. "I will take my steps firmly toward economic recovery, peace and public unity."

DPK campaign chief Rep. Woo Sang-ho described the merger as "a collusion aimed at sharing government jobs."

"This kind of unified candidacy will not bring the consequences they (Yoon and Ahn) expect," Woo said. "Rather, they may face a backlash because there is a possibility that those who had been hesitant to vote for Lee and others who think this merger is inappropriate will vote for our candidate."

Though Ahn has dropped his presidential bid, his name will remain on the ballots. According to the National Election Commission (NEC), ballots for the election on March 9 have already been printed with Ahn's name.

For early voting, which begins Friday, Ahn will be marked as a withdrawn candidate on the ballots, as the NEC has yet to print the ballots for early voting. Ahn reported his withdrawal to the NEC on Thursday afternoon. Overseas voting for Korean nationals abroad was already held from Feb. 23 to 28, and the NEC has said all votes for Ahn have been invalidated.

The Ipsos poll was requested by the Korea Economic Daily and surveyed 1,000 adults on March 1 and 2. The Embrain Public poll was requested by Munhwa Ilbo newspaper and surveyed 1,002 adults from March 1 to 2. Further details are available at the websites of the polling agencies and the National Election Survey Deliberation Commission.