Ahn Cheol-soo Declares Presidential Candidacy: "We Must Move Toward the Predetermined Future Through National Unity and Development"

Ahn Launches Fourth Presidential Bid
Declaration Ceremony Held in Front of Admiral Yi Sun-sin Statue at Gwanghwamun Square
Ahn: "We Must No Longer Entrust the Nation's Future to Legal Professionals"
Promises Constitutional Amendment, Leap to AI Powerhouse, and Revision of Korea-US Atomic Energy Agreement

On the 8th, Ahn Cheol-soo, a member of the People Power Party, officially declared his candidacy for the 21st presidential election, stating, "We must move beyond internal party conflicts to party unity, beyond national conflicts to national integration, beyond national chaos to national development, toward the 'predestined future.'"

At 11 a.m. that day, Ahn held a declaration ceremony for his 21st presidential election candidacy in front of the Admiral Yi Sun-sin statue at Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul. He mentioned that former President Yoon Seok-youl was impeached due to a unanimous unconstitutional ruling by the judges and said, "However, we do not have the luxury to dwell on the past with regret."

This is Ahn's fourth challenge for the presidency. Previously, in the 18th presidential election held in 2012, Ahn unified with Moon Jae-in, then the Democratic United Party candidate. In the 2017 presidential election, he ran as the People’s Party candidate but came in third behind former President Moon Jae-in and Hong Joon-pyo, the Liberty Korea Party candidate. In the 20th presidential election held in 2022, he again ran as the People’s Party candidate but withdrew after unifying with former President Yoon the day before early voting.

Regarding this, Ahn bowed his head and said, "Former President Yoon was impeached, and the nation and its people have faced an unprecedented era of crisis and chaos. As someone who helped President Yoon with unification, I offer deep reflection and apology."

Throughout his declaration, Ahn emphasized national integration and a change of era. He particularly referred to the extreme political confrontations during the Moon Jae-in and Yoon Seok-youl administrations and stated, "We must no longer entrust the future of the Republic of Korea to prosecutors and legal professionals who look back at the past," emphasizing, "We need a leader who understands diverse citizens and leads them toward integration, not someone with a worldview that divides people into good and evil."

His mention of prosecutors and legal professionals is interpreted as a move to check Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the Democratic Party of Korea and a lawyer who is currently the top presidential candidate in both parties, as well as prosecutor-turned Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo, former representative Han Dong-hoon, and lawyer-turned Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, who are competing in the People Power Party primary.

Ahn particularly stressed, "I started politics with the sole purpose of revitalizing the Republic of Korea," and asserted, "I am cleaner than anyone else, the best candidate to advance the artificial intelligence (AI) industry and resolve the medical crisis, and the candidate with the greatest appeal to centrists."

Yonhap News

He promised a national integration grand constitutional amendment centered on a four-year presidential term with re-election and a large multi-member constituency system, the cultivation of one million AI talents, and the establishment of a new economic development five-year plan focusing on AI, quantum computing, cybersecurity, and becoming a medical powerhouse. He also pledged to push forward five major reforms in pensions, education, labor, healthcare, and the public sector, as well as innovate the three pillars of diplomacy, security, and economic security.

Regarding constitutional amendments, he said, "I will reduce presidential powers and parliamentary privileges, and promote a four-year presidential term with re-election and a large multi-member constituency system. This will open a true era of cooperation and integration in politics," adding, "The people reject politics that divide them into left and right, conservative and progressive, regions, generations, and genders, pushing them into a battlefield of death and failure."

To leap forward as an AI powerhouse, he emphasized, "Like President Park Chung-hee’s five-year economic development plan, we will make national investments through a new five-year economic development plan," and "We will appeal to companies and citizens, and the government and businesses will cooperate to invest hundreds of trillions of won in the AI industry to catch up with advanced countries." As part of his security policy, he pledged to promote a national project to develop a Korean-style nuclear-powered submarine and revise the Korea-US Atomic Energy Agreement for reprocessing spent nuclear fuel.