Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo, an independent, has launched a think tank, Policy Network Tomorrow, which will undoubtedly play a key role in organizing his supporters into a political party. Ahn has come one step closer to creating his own party at a time when the main opposition Democratic Party is dithering on low approval ratings.

Ahn’s desire for a party is understandable, given that he learned how difficult it was for an unaffiliated candidate to make a bid for the presidency. Ahn ran in the presidential election in December, only to bow out of the race in support of the Democratic Party’s candidate.

If he is to keep his presidential ambition rolling, he definitely needs a national party with regional chapters. So it is little wonder that the think tank’s board is chaired by a renowned advocate of party politics ― Choi Jang-jip, a professor emeritus of Korea University. Choi acknowledges Ahn will have to establish a party.

At the inaugural ceremony on Sunday, Ahn said his think tank would research overall structural reform in Korea aimed at reducing the gap between the haves and the have-nots. He said it was open not only to those who supported him in the presidential race but to other people with expertise in politics, economics and sociology.

While Ahn and his supporters have taken an initial step toward organizing themselves into a political party, the Democratic Party has yet to come out of a post-election slump. The opposition party wanted to put its defeat behind it and regain public confidence when it elected a new leadership on May 4. But its approval ratings remain woefully low.

According to a survey the pollster Research View conducted on May 31, the Democratic Party was favored by 11.7 percent of the respondents. On the other hand, 34 percent approved of a party that Ahn has yet to establish. Even more disappointing to the Democratic Party was a finding that it trailed far behind Ahn’s forthcoming party in North Jeolla Province, one of the opposition party’s strongholds.

It takes no genius to figure out that many of the people that approve of Ahn’s party are those disillusioned about the current state of politics. If so, the think tank will have to help develop fresh, meticulous and yet easily applicable policy proposals and develop them into a coherent platform so that it can set Ahn’s party apart from the ruling Saenuri Party as well as the Democratic Party.

Ahn may have to commit himself to some of the policy proposals in October when parliamentary by-elections are scheduled to be held. Ahn says some of those close to him will run in the elections.

Ahn and his supporters should now be buoyed by their high popularity. But they should be reminded that popularity is fickle. With an initial test of their mettle coming in October, one single misstep could easily send their popularity nose-diving.