Ahn Cheol-soo

Ahn Cheol-soo
안철수
Member of the National Assembly
Assumed office
1 June 2022
Preceded byKim Eun-hye
ConstituencySeongnam Bundang A (Gyeonggi)
In office
25 April 2013 – 15 April 2017
Preceded byRoh Hoe-chan
Succeeded byKim Seong-hwan (2018)
ConstituencyNowon C
Leader of the New Politics Alliance for Democracy
In office
26 March 2014 – 31 July 2014
Serving with Kim Han-gil
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byMoon Jae-in
Leader of the People Party (2016–2018)
In office
2 February 2016 – 29 June 2016
Serving with Chun Jung-bae
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byPark Jie-won
In office
27 August 2017 – 13 February 2018
Preceded byPark Jie-won
Succeeded byPosition abolished
Leader of the People Party (2020–2022)
In office
23 February 2020 – 18 April 2022
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byPosition abolished
Personal details
Born (1962-02-26) 26 February 1962 (age 62)
Miryang, South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea
Political partyPeople Power
Other political
affiliations
SpouseKim Mi-kyung
Children1 daughter
Alma mater
Occupation
  • Physician
  • professor
  • software entrepreneur
Known forV3 (antivirus software)
ReligionRoman Catholic
(Christian name: Paul Chong Hasang)
Signature
Military service
Allegiance Republic of Korea
Branch/service Republic of Korea Navy
Years of service1992–1994
Rank Daewi (Lieutenant)
[1][2]
Ahn Cheol-soo
Hangul
안철수
Hanja
Revised RomanizationAn Cheol-su
McCune–ReischauerAn Ch'ŏlsu

Ahn Cheol-soo (Korean안철수 [an tɕʰʌl.s͈u]; born 26 February 1962) is a South Korean politician, medical doctor, businessperson, and software entrepreneur. He is a member of the National Assembly as part of the conservative People Power Party. Prior to his career in politics, Ahn founded AhnLab, Inc., an antivirus software company, in 1995. He was chairman of the board and Chief Learning Officer of AhnLab until September 2012, and remains the company's largest stakeholder. Prior to entering politics, Ahn served as dean of the Graduate School of Convergence Science and Technology at Seoul National University until September 2012. Ahn was considered a left-wing politician when he entered politics in 2012,[3] then considered a centrist politician by his 2017 presidential bid,[4] and is now considered a right-wing politician.[5][6]

Ahn made his first official entry into politics as an independent candidate in the 2012 South Korean presidential election, polling strongly before dropping out and endorsing the ultimately unsuccessful campaign of Democratic Party candidate Moon Jae-in. In the 2017 South Korean presidential election, Ahn ran as a third party candidate, losing to Moon Jae-in and winning 21.4% of the popular vote. In the 2022 South Korean presidential election, Ahn ran again as a third party candidate before dropping out of the race and endorsing People Power Party candidate Yoon Suk-yeol, who went on to win the election.[7][8] Ahn also ran in the 2018 and 2021 elections for mayor of Seoul.[9]

In 2014, Ahn became one of the co-founders and co-leaders of the New Politics Alliance for Democracy, now known as the Democratic Party of Korea, before stepping down from party leadership after a few months and then defecting from the party in 2015. In 2016, he was one of the co-founders of the centrist People Party and often served as party leader until the People Party and the Bareun Party merged to become the Bareunmirae Party in February 2018. In 2020, Ahn split from the Bareunmirae Party and created a new party, also called the People Party, which Ahn led until the People Party and the People Power Party merged in April 2022. Since April 2022, he has been a member of the conservative People Power Party.

  1. ^ "AhnLab". AhnLab. 8 July 2002. Archived from the original on 22 July 2011. Retrieved 22 January 2010.
  2. ^ Ahn Chul-soo: “Korea needs horizontal thinking to make a Nintendo game player.” Archived 17 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine at Korea Foundation.
  3. ^ Choe, Sang-Hun (23 November 2012). "South Korea Is Surprised by Departure of Candidate". The New York Times. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
  4. ^ Choe, Sang-Hun (14 April 2017). "South Korea Election Turns Into 2-Way Race as Dark Horse Surges". The New York Times. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
  5. ^ Jung, Da-min (2 August 2021). "Will Ahn Cheol-soo join conservative main opposition party?". The Korea Times. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference AP Ahn drops out 2022 election was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ "Ahn Cheol-soo declares his 3rd presidential run". Yonhap News Agency. 1 November 2021. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
  8. ^ "Ahn backs Yoon for presidency and drops out of race". Yonhap News Agency. The Korea Times. 3 March 2022. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  9. ^ "Ahn Cheol-soo declares bid for Seoul mayor". Korea JoongAng Daily. 4 April 2018. Retrieved 5 April 2018.

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