Declaration of Candidacy in Front of Admiral Yi Sun-sin Statue at Gwanghwamun Square
Promises Constitutional Amendment, Leap to AI Powerhouse, and Revision of Korea-US Atomic Energy Agreement
On Han Duck-soo's Nomination of Constitutional Court Justice: "Appropriate"
On the 8th, Ahn Cheol-soo, a member of the People Power Party, officially declared his candidacy for the 21st presidential election, urging voters to "choose me, the candidate who can defeat Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the Democratic Party of Korea."
At 11 a.m. that day, Ahn held a declaration ceremony in front of the Admiral Yi Sun-sin statue at Gwanghwamun Square in Jongno-gu, Seoul, stating, "The conflicts in South Korea are clearly also the responsibility of Lee Jae-myung and the Democratic Party, who have incited political strife."
This is Ahn's fourth presidential bid. 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 Jun-pyo of the Liberty Korea Party. In the 20th presidential election held in 2022, he again ran as the People's Party candidate but withdrew after unifying with President Yoon Seok-youl the day before early voting.
Ahn Cheol-soo, a member of the People Power Party, is declaring his candidacy for the 21st presidential election on the 8th in front of the Admiral Yi Sun-sin statue at Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News
Ahn said, "Former President Yoon was impeached, and the country and its people have faced an unprecedented era of crisis and confusion. As someone who helped President Yoon Seok-youl with unification, I offer deep reflection and apology," but emphasized, "However, we do not have the luxury to dwell on the past." He continued, "We must move beyond internal party conflicts to party unity, beyond public conflicts to national integration, beyond national chaos to national development, toward a 'predestined future.'"
Throughout his declaration, Ahn emphasized national integration and a change of era. Referring to the extreme political confrontations during the Moon Jae-in and Yoon Seok-youl administrations, he said, "We must no longer entrust South Korea's future to prosecutors and legal professionals who look only to the past," highlighting, "We need a leader who understands diverse citizens and leads them toward unity, 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 Democratic Party leader and lawyer who leads in approval ratings among presidential candidates from both major parties, as well as prosecutor-turned candidates such as Hong Jun-pyo, mayor of Daegu, former party leader Han Dong-hoon, and lawyer-turned Seoul mayor Oh Se-hoon, while differentiating himself as an IT scientist and entrepreneur. Ahn stated, "I started politics with the sole purpose of revitalizing South Korea," and emphasized, "I am cleaner than anyone else, the right person to advance the artificial intelligence (AI) industry and resolve the medical crisis, and the candidate with the greatest appeal to centrists."
He promised a national integration constitutional amendment centered on a four-year presidential term with one re-election and a multi-member constituency system, a new five-year economic development plan focusing on nurturing one million AI talents and advancing AI, quantum computing, cyber security, and medical supremacy, five major reforms in pensions, education, labor, healthcare, and public sectors, and innovation in diplomacy, security, and economic security.
Regarding constitutional amendments, he said, "I will reduce presidential powers and parliamentary privileges, promote a four-year presidential term with one re-election and a multi-member constituency system, thereby opening an era of true cooperation and unity in politics," and criticized, "The people reject politics that divide them into left and right, conservative and progressive, regions, generations, and genders, pushing them into a field of death and failure."
To leap forward as an AI powerhouse, he pledged, "Like President Park Chung-hee's five-year economic development plan, I will implement a new five-year economic development plan with national investment," emphasizing, "The government and companies will cooperate to invest hundreds of trillions of won in the AI industry to catch up with advanced countries." In security policy, he also pledged to promote a national project to develop Korean-style nuclear-powered submarines and revise the Korea-US Atomic Energy Agreement for reprocessing spent nuclear fuel.
However, he expressed skepticism about the proposal by Speaker Woo Won-shik for simultaneous voting on the presidential election and constitutional amendment. Ahn said, "Amending the constitution during this presidential election is urgent with less than two months left, and there are many issues, so agreement may not be reached," adding, "I propose that only agreed-upon matters be amended together with the local elections." Addressing Lee Jae-myung, who is reluctant about constitutional amendments, saying that ending the internal conflict should come first, Ahn retorted, "Is the country currently in a state of internal conflict?" and remarked, "It seems he thinks that if he becomes president, the internal conflict will end."
When a reporter pointed out his weak support base within the party, he countered, "At the party convention two years ago, the leader was elected through a 100% party member opinion poll. Even though instructions came down in Yongsan for another candidate, I received 24% support." Regarding the possibility of an alliance among centrist conservative candidates within the People Power Party, he replied, "I don't think the possibility is very high at this time."
On the primary rules, he said, "The Democratic Party's candidate is practically decided, so the public may not be interested, but our party's race could be dynamic because no one knows who will win," adding, "We should design the system well and increase the ratio of public opinion to party opinion from 5:5 to something higher. 8:2 would also be good."
When asked about the appropriateness of Prime Minister and Acting President Han Duck-soo's nomination of Ma Eun-hyuk as a Constitutional Court justice candidate and the nomination of Lee Wan-gyu, head of the Legislation Office, and Ham Sang-hoon, chief judge of the Seoul High Court, as presidential nominees for Constitutional Court justices, he said, "It is appropriate. Acting President means someone who acts on behalf of the president," emphasizing, "If the acting president cannot exercise some of the powers the president can, how can they responsibly manage and operate the country?"
Ahn Cheol-soo, a member of the People Power Party, is answering reporters' questions after declaring his candidacy for the 21st presidential election in front of the statue of Admiral Yi Sun-sin at Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul on the 8th. Photo by Yonhap News.
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