Ahn Cheol-soo and Oh Se-hoon Candidate Unification's Three Major Obstacles: 'Survey Questions, Subjects, and Debates'

[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] Although the major hurdle for the unification of the opposition candidates for Seoul mayor, 'Oh Se-hoon - Ahn Cheol-soo,' has been overcome by agreeing to decide through a public opinion poll, there are still significant differences in views regarding the survey method and debate issues, so difficulties are expected.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

According to political circles on the 12th, the unification negotiations between Oh Se-hoon, the Seoul mayor candidate from the People Power Party, and Ahn Cheol-soo, the Seoul mayor candidate from the People Party, are largely divided into the survey method and the questions/debate issues. The most contentious part is about the questions. Oh’s side prefers a suitability method asking who is the best among the opposition candidates, while Ahn’s side wants a competitiveness method asking who can win against Park Young-sun, the Democratic Party candidate.

Although the questions may seem similar at first glance, both sides believe the way the questions are asked will be a variable that determines the outcome. Oh, who has been trailing in approval ratings, aims to fully utilize the upward trend in his support. Conversely, Ahn’s side considers that in various two-party polls, the ‘Ahn Cheol-soo vs. Park Young-sun’ matchup has shown a larger gap than the ‘Oh Se-hoon vs. Park Young-sun’ matchup. Since neither side is showing willingness to compromise on the questions yet, negotiations are expected to continue until mid-next week.

The target of the questions is also an issue. There can be discussions on whether to use the conventional polling method or to significantly expand the survey target. Kim Geun-sik, head of the Vision Strategy Office of the People Power Party, who has been devising candidate unification strategies, told Asia Economy, "We need to consider ways to increase citizen participation in the polls." The reverse selection prevention clause is also crucial. If such a clause is introduced, the Democratic Party and Uri Party supporters would be excluded from the survey target, which generally benefits Oh. However, there is also an opposing view that since a complete national primary was already conducted in the People Power Party’s primary, it is difficult to actively advocate for reverse selection prevention.

Debates between candidates also require discussion. Considering the polls on the 17th and 18th, the time available for debates, including the weekend, is five days. Since both candidates have promised to hold vision presentations and TV debates require coordination with broadcasters, a maximum of 2 to 3 sessions is possible. The People Power Party’s stance is to hold as many debates as possible. Regarding the debate format, Oh’s side prefers a ‘head-to-head debate’ between candidates, while Ahn’s side is known to prefer a format that sets common questions and agendas.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.