[2023 Click Political Figure] Ahn Cheol-soo's Turning Point

Political Career Highlights Over 10 Years Since Entry
After Yoon's Unification, Merger Sends People's Party into History
Political Direction Likely to Shift with Ruling Party Leadership Election

"I believe that human life is about living meaningfully and healthily with contemporaries who will eventually disappear together, and then returning as 'dust beyond the stars.'"

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Hyun-joo] This is a part of the interview collection 'Ahn Cheol-soo's Thoughts' released by Ahn Cheol-soo, a member of the People Power Party, in 2012. At that time, Ahn, known as a doctor-turned-computer programmer and venture company CEO, was a prominent presidential candidate preparing to enter politics. Despite the somewhat humiliating nickname "Gancheolsu" (meaning "Ahn Cheol-soo who gauges the situation"), he was a political rookie who retorted, "People who always gauge the situation might be the ones saying such things to me, as criticism of others often reflects the critic's worldview."

Over the course of ten years, Ahn has maintained the third political zone. He ran twice as a presidential candidate. The journey was not smooth, and the results were not always favorable. In the 18th presidential election, he attempted to unify with Moon Jae-in, then the Democratic United Party candidate, but failed. Instead, after declaring his withdrawal from the race, he later endorsed Moon but was defeated by Park Geun-hye, the Saenuri Party candidate at the time. In the 2013 by-election for Nowon B district, Ahn was elected as an independent. The following year, he and Kim Han-gil, then leader of the Democratic Party, announced the creation of a third political zone by founding the New Politics Alliance for Democracy, but Ahn resigned as leader after the party suffered a crushing defeat in the 2014 by-elections.

Ahn Cheol-soo, a member of the People Power Party, is speaking during his visit to the Sejong Special Self-Governing City Party Office on the morning of the 26th of last month. 2022.12.26 [Image source=Yonhap News]

After founding the People's Party in 2015, he secured 38 seats in the 20th general election, solidifying his position as the third political zone. The ruling Saenuri Party lost its status as the largest party in the National Assembly, resulting in a minority government for the first time in 16 years since the 16th general election, and establishing a three-party system for the first time in 20 years since the 15th general election.

However, he was defeated in the 19th presidential election, and with the merger with the Bareun Party forming the Bareunmirae Party, Ahn stepped down from his leadership position. He also ran for Seoul mayor in 2018 but finished third behind Kim Moon-soo of the Liberty Korea Party. After re-founding the People's Party in 2020, he ran in the Seoul mayoral by-election a year later but withdrew mid-race following unification with Oh Se-hoon, the People Power Party candidate.

In the 19th presidential election held last year, Ahn surprised the political world by unifying with Yoon Seok-youl, then the People Power Party candidate, just six days before the vote. This move undermined the purpose of his book 'Crossing the Line,' published shortly before the election in a dialogue format with former professor Jin Joong-kwon, which criticized the two major parties.

Ahn Cheol-soo, member of the People Power Party./Photo by Yoon Dong-ju doso7@

Ahn, who also served as the chairman of the transition committee for the Yoon Seok-youl administration, completed the merger process between the People's Party and the People Power Party in April last year. This led to sighs in the political sphere that the experiment of the third political zone had come to an end.

After winning the Seongnam Bundang-gu Gap seat in the June 1 by-election, filling the vacancy left by Kim Eun-hye, the presidential office's chief spokesperson who lost the Gyeonggi Province governor race, Ahn is returning to Yeouido. He has effectively confirmed his candidacy for the party leadership election scheduled for March and is working to secure party support. If Ahn wins the party leadership, he could be considered a potential candidate for the next presidential election. However, if he loses by a large margin, he may fail to secure a sufficient support base within the party. This upcoming party election is expected to be a new turning point in Ahn's political career.