TENSIONS AMID SINGLE CANDIDACY OFFER

[Anchor Lead]

There are yet no concrete moves in talks to field a unified candidate from the opposition camp after People's Party's Ahn Cheol-soo made the proposal. The minor party and the main opposition are instead in a tug of war to take the initiative, by proposing their own ideas on the issue.

[Pkg]

The PPP has expressed further opposition to Ahn Cheol-soo's suggestion of choosing a single candidate through public opinion polls.

[Soundbite] Kwon Young-se(Chair, PPP Election Committee) : "Futile dispute during the unification process could be what the ruling party and Lee Jae-myung are hoping for. It's hard to imagine what kind of atrocious scheme they will resort to."

The PPP called for a big, bold move to field a joint candidate. The call is interpreted as demanding Ahn's concession. The PPP said "the situation is very different," referring to the large gap in public support between Ahn and its candidate Yoon Suk-yeol.

[Soundbite] Yoon Suk-yeol(PPP Pres. Candidate) : "I already said everything on Sunday about unifying candidacy for sake of a power transfer."

It is Ahn's side, which is behind in ratings, that appears to be in a rush. The polling method proposed by Ahn is the same kind used during unified candidacy talks for the previous Seoul mayoral by-election which was then agreed to by both parties. Ahn is pressing the main opposition to engage in a bold showdown.

[Soundbite] Lee Tae-kyu(Chair, People's Party Election Committee(Feb. 14, CBS)) : "Ahn is proposing the method in which he lost to his then mayoral rival. A provision to prevent so-called adverse selection is being mentioned but the PPP's way was not to have such a clause."

The People's Party also cited a deadline of 2 to 3 days.

[Soundbite] Ahn Cheol-soo(People's Party Pres. Candidate) : "I'm waiting for Yoon's response. If he is sincere about it, I believe he will accept my proposal."

It's unclear whether discussions on fielding a single candidate will gain momentum. Both sides have said there will be no closed door negotiations. Both parties view the current stage as sort of war of nerves, but if the situation prolongs, some say that will only increase a sense of fatigue over the issue.