Yoon and Ahn agree to merge candidacies

Politics

Published: 03 Mar. 2022, 09:19 Updated: 03 Mar. 2022, 15:55

Yoon and Ahn agree to merge candidacies

Yoon Suk-yeol, left, presidential candidate of the main opposition People Power Party, and Ahn Cheol-soo of the minor opposition People's Party, hold a joint press conference at the National Assembly in western Seoul Thursday. After agreeing on a merger in an overnight meeting, Ahn announced he will back Yoon as the unified opposition candidate. [NEWS1]

Yoon Suk-yeol of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) and Ahn Cheol-soo of the minor People's Party agreed to merge candidacies Thursday with less than a week left until the March 9 presidential election.

Ahn announced his decision to drop out of the race and declared his support for Yoon as the unified opposition candidate in a joint press conference at 8 a.m. at the National Assembly in western Seoul.

The two sides reached an eleventh hour deal after holding overnight talks to discuss a merger after the third and final televised debate hosted by the National Election Commission (NEC) the previous evening.

Ahn told reporters, standing alongside, Yoon, "I have no doubt that a complete change of government will be realized with today's merger declaration. We will definitely enable a change of government and prepare for an era of great transformation and innovation in Korea, in accordance with the will of the people."

He continued, "The two of us are one team. We will make up for each other's shortcomings and achieve a change in government, and we will definitely create a successful government through a complementary, competent and prepared administration."

After Ahn said he decided to endorse Yoon, the PPP candidate said he accepted the intentions of the People's Party candidate and declared, "We will surely win, and together, we will create a successful unified government."

Ahn also apologized for the delays in reaching a merger deal.

The People's Party is also expected to merge with the PPP after the election.

Yoon and Ahn met at around midnight Wednesday and continued talks until nearly 3 a.m. Thursday, agreeing on a merger without conditions.

Ahn on Feb. 13 proposed a public survey to field a unified opposition presidential candidate but withdrew the offer one week later. He blamed a lack of response from Yoon and declared his intention to stay in the race.

Last Sunday, Yoon said in a press conference that Ahn ultimately turned down a merger deal despite the two campaigns having reached a tentative agreement. However, behind-the-scenes talks continued between the two parties, despite Ahn saying the deadline for a deal had already passed.

The merger decision comes ahead of the two-day advance voting period over Friday and Saturday and six days before the election.

The unification of the opposition candidates is expected to bolster Yoon's chances against Lee Jae-myung, presidential candidate of the ruling Democratic Party. The two candidates have been neck and neck in opinion polls. The NEC banned the publishing of public opinion poll results starting Thursday until voting ends at 7:30 p.m. on March 9.

BY SARAH KIM [kim.sarah@joongang.co.kr]