[Letter] Where are you Mr. Ahn?

The neck-and-neck presidential race between the Saenuri Party’s Park Geun-hye and the Democratic United Party’s Moon Jae-in is finally over, and the winner Park is preparing to organize a power transition team for the next conservative administration under her reign.

Despite many analyses for reasons behind Park’s nail-biting victory in the election, I think three major factors played a critical role in her remarkable comeback.

First, it was no doubt that the fumbles the opposition party made while trying to merge candidacies with Ahn Cheol-soo, the software mogul-turned-professor-turned-politician, hurt the liberals. Ahn’s lackluster and half-hearted support for Moon - despite the younger generation’s aspirations for a last-minute merger dramatic enough to confront Park - was an important factor to Moon’s defeat.

Second, the spectacular consolidation of the voters in their 50s and 60s to avoid all the conflicts and division they vividly witnessed when they were in their 40s during the maverick Roh Moo-hyun administration also contributed to the demise of Moon - a major culprit in the fatal collapse of the Roh government.

Last but not least, Park’s reputation as savior of not only the crippled ruling party several years ago but also of the country in crisis most likely gave her a better chance for president given Moon’s relatively shallow political background and offensive attacks against Park in the last debate.

With the divisive election over and once-dark horse Ahn Cheol-soo taking a balmy rest in San Francisco from his irreparable mistakes in the campaign, President-elect Park must find effective ways to stitch up all the wounds and scars this country had to suffer and go forward toward unity. I wish her good luck.

*Student at Konkuk University
By Kang Hiok