Progressive candidate Moon Jae-in, former chief of staff to the late President Roh Moo-hyun, is suddenly facing a real horse race in the South Korean May 9 presidential election.  Pragmatist Ahn Cheol-soo has pulled almost even in the latest polls for the election to replace Park Geun-hye.

With the situation on the Korean peninsula reaching a level of tension not seen in years, some voters may be re-evaluating whether Moon’s advocacy of the warmed-over Sunshine policy of his late mentor may be the best approach to dealing with a defiant Kim Jong Un and an increasingly assertive U.S. President Trump.