Candidate Ahn Cheol-soo (left) and People’s Power Candidate Oh Se-hoon, who ran for the 4·7 Seoul Mayor’s by-election. Hankook Ilbo·Yonhap News
There is a growing possibility that the unification of opposition candidates for the opposition candidate Oh Se-hoon and National Assembly Party candidate Ahn Cheol-soo in the by-election of the Mayor of Seoul by the 4/7 may be decided through a single method of ‘100% citizen opinion poll’. As promised by the two candidates, in order to achieve unification before the candidate registration date (18th and 19th), physical time is insufficient to introduce other methods such as the national participation contest. Both sides are expected to have a tug-of-war over the polls for the remainder of the year.
The power of the people who stepped back… 100% weight on the poll
Summarizing the interview with the Hankook Ilbo on the 10th, Candidate Oh and Ahn’s unified working-level negotiations agreed on a preparation process to request the Central Election Commission to provide a mobile phone security number during a public opinion poll on the 9th. The selection of public opinion polls was also coordinated without any other disagreement.
Therefore, the possibility of unifying candidates will be increased in the ‘100% citizen poll’ method proposed by Candidate Ahn. It has been argued that, within the power of the people,’the public participation contest (open primary) in which party members and citizens directly participate in addition to the public opinion polls will be held,’ but it is known that it is difficult considering the timing of unification. A negotiator on the side of Candidate Oh said on the day, “In reality, the national participation contest is not easy because there is not much time left for unification. It is 100% polled, but if it is fair, we will be able to accept both candidates.”
On the 10th, the power of the people, Kim Jong-in (third from left), emergency response committee chairman Oh Se-hoon (second from left), visited Seoul Myeong-dong with Mayor Oh Se-hoon to tour the site with business associates. Hankook Ilbo
Good fit for Se-hoon Oh and Cheol-soo Ahn for competitiveness
Therefore, the focus of unification negotiations seems to be on the side surrounding the design of poll items, not the method. Actually, ① which candidate should run for a good candidate (conformity survey) ② which candidate is considered competitive (competitiveness survey). Candidate Oh’s side sees that it is relatively advantageous in terms of suitability and Ahn’s side in terms of competitiveness.
Therefore, in the end, there is a prospect of seeing a compromise with a’compromising question’ that asks both suitability and competitiveness. It is a question that combines ① and ②, such as “Who do you think is suitable among candidates for the People’s Strength Oh Se-hoon and Candidate Ahn Cheol-soo as the single candidate to compete with the Democratic Party candidate Park Young-sun?” At the time of the 16th presidential election in 2002, there is a precedent of an agreement as a compromise between candidates for the Millennium Democratic Party Roh Moo-hyun (preferably fit) and Chung Mong-joon (preferably competitive). An official from the People’s Party said, “Wouldn’t it be possible to ask about competitiveness in a public opinion poll, but also ask about suitability by putting the names of the two parties?”
Ahn Chul-soo (left), the candidate of the Mayor of the National Assembly Party, is receiving a policy report after a meeting with the officials of the Seoul Civil Service Workers’ Union at the Seoul City Hall on the 10th. Newsis
Se-Hoon Oh and Chul-Soo Ahn seem not to compete with boring power
In the unification negotiations between Candidate Oh and Candidate Ahn, it is not expected that the struggle over the questionnaire of the polls will continue for a long time. An official who was bright with the circumstances of both candidates said, “At the beer meeting on the 7th of the two candidates,’Why don’t the two candidates make a fair compromise on the poll questions, and the research agency selects two and conducts it for about 2,000 people? “We even talked about it,” he said.
However, it cannot be ruled out the possibility that the two candidates at the last minute will decide the final candidate through a’political talk’. This is because in order to maximize the unification effect by combining the two candidate support groups, noise should be avoided as much as possible over the results of public opinion polls. In fact, Candidate Oh mentioned the necessity of unification by political decision, saying, “It is difficult to unite the supporters only through unification through public opinion polls” during the party’s primary election.
Jihyun Kim reporter [email protected]
News directly edited by the Hankook Ilbo can also be viewed on Naver.
