Opposition joins forces against ruling party in South Korea's presidential election

2 parties strike deal to boost chances against ruling Democratic Party nominee in March 9 election

By Islamuddin Sajid

ANKARA (AA) – Two opposition parties in South Korea on Thursday unveiled an alliance to bolster their chances against the ruling party’s candidate in next week’s presidential election.

A surprise last-minute agreement saw Ahn Cheol-soo of the People’s Party withdraw from the race and declare support for main opposition candidate Yoon Suk-yeol of the conservative People Power Party, Yonhap News Agency reported.

“Both of us, Ahn Cheol-soo and Yoon Suk-yeol, agreed to combine our minds for a better change of the government,” Ahn said at a joint news conference with Yoon.

Under the agreement, the two parties will be merged after the March 9 presidential election.

The move comes ahead of what is expected to be a tight race between Yoon and Lee Jae-myung, the candidate of the ruling liberal Democratic Party.

A survey conducted this week showed Yoon would Lee by 47.4% to 41.5% if he merged campaigns with Ahn, according to the report.

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