Ahn Cheol-soo Cancels All Scheduled Events... Likely to Join Yoon's Campaign Rally

Withdrawal of Candidate Expected Today
Schedule Discussion with People Power Party

Yoon Seok-yeol, the People Power Party's presidential candidate (left), and Ahn Cheol-soo, the People Party's presidential candidate, are riding up the escalator at the National Assembly Communication Hall on the morning of the 3rd to hold a unification press conference. Photo by National Assembly Press Photographers Group

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunju Lee] Ahn Cheol-soo, the presidential candidate of the People’s Party, canceled all scheduled events on the 3rd after announcing unification with Yoon Seok-yeol, the presidential candidate of the People Power Party. He then discussed future campaign schedules with the People Power Party’s election campaign headquarters. It is expected that Ahn will soon campaign alongside Yoon Seok-yeol, appealing for support at campaign sites. Along with this, Ahn will take steps to withdraw his candidacy later that afternoon.

According to the People’s Party, Ahn is likely to focus on joint on-site campaigning with Yoon during the remaining campaign period. Yoon has announced plans for a rigorous on-site campaign touring regions until the day before the election, making it highly probable that Ahn will accompany him. As early as tomorrow, Yoon plans to cast an early vote in Busan, and Ahn may also participate in early voting together. At the latest, Ahn is expected to join Yoon’s scheduled metropolitan area campaign starting the day after tomorrow.

There is also interest in whether Ahn, having withdrawn his candidacy, will hold an official position within the People Power Party’s election campaign headquarters. Previously, Yoon disbanded the election campaign committee composed of general and standing chairpersons and formed a new campaign headquarters. Only Kwon Young-se, the head of the headquarters, Yoon Jae-ok, the deputy head, and Won Hee-ryong, the policy chief, currently hold official titles. A People Power Party official said, “When Ahn will start campaigning needs to be discussed with the People’s Party,” adding, “We expect they will cooperate as much as possible.”

The People’s Party plans to follow the candidate withdrawal submission procedures set by the Central Election Commission today. Once the withdrawal letter is submitted, during the two-day early voting period on the 4th and 5th, ballots will be distributed with the word ‘withdrawn’ printed next to Ahn’s name. However, the ballots for the main election day on the 9th have already been printed and will not indicate his withdrawal. Instead, the election commission will post notices at polling stations informing voters of Ahn’s withdrawal.

After the election, the People’s Party is expected to proceed with the merger process with the People Power Party. During the merger, Ahn may serve as co-party leader alongside Lee Jun-seok, the leader of the People Power Party, managing the party together. Discussions related to the multi-party system, which Ahn has emphasized, are also expected to continue. Lee Tae-gyu, a People’s Party lawmaker, told reporters, “Realizing a multi-party system has long been Ahn’s personal conviction, so even if we merge with the People Power Party, it will continue to be pursued as a political reform agenda.”

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