Ahn Cheolsoo to Focus on Innovation Committee Instead of Party Leadership
Meets with Song Eonseok to Discuss Direction and Member Selection
Innovation Committee Members to Be Chosen for Mindset, Not Faction
Ahn Cheolsoo, who has been nominated as the Chairman of the Innovation Committee of the People Power Party, announced that he will not run in the People Power Party National Convention scheduled for next month and will instead focus on his duties with the Innovation Committee.
He added, "It is important for moderates, people in the Seoul metropolitan area, and young people to look back at us and become interested again," and said, "I will focus on that when selecting members for the Innovation Committee."
Song Eonseok, Chairman of the Emergency Committee of the People Power Party (right), and Ahn Cheolsoo, Chairman of the Innovation Committee, are meeting and talking at the People Power Party floor leader's office in the National Assembly on July 2, 2025. Photo by Kim Hyunmin
On the afternoon of July 2, at the National Assembly in Seoul, Ahn met with Song Eonseok, Chairman of the Emergency Committee and Floor Leader of the People Power Party, and told reporters, "The Innovation Committee should be guaranteed at least 60 days," and "If the National Convention ends in mid-August, there will be some overlap with the new party leader."
When asked if he would not run in the National Convention, Ahn replied, "I am not considering running." Although Ahn had initially been considered a strong contender for party leadership, his acceptance of the Innovation Committee chairmanship is interpreted as a commitment to focus on party reform.
Regarding his decision to accept the role, Ahn explained, "Above all, it is something the party needs as soon as possible," and added, "As a member of the organization, I always act in the best interests of the party. Regardless of my position, I accepted because I want to do what is helpful for the party."
Regarding the agenda of his meeting with Song, Ahn said, "We discussed whom and how many people to appoint as members of the Innovation Committee," and added, "There was no major disagreement regarding the people I recommended."
Ahn stated, "I think it would be best to keep the committee at no more than 10 members," and added, "Having about 7 to 9 members would be appropriate." He continued, "We are considering dividing the committee into roughly one-third from within the National Assembly, one-third from local party chapter heads outside the Assembly, and one-third from external figures."
The selection of Innovation Committee members could be announced as early as July 3. Ahn explained, "Rather than focusing on factions, the top priority is to select people who truly have an innovative mindset."
Regarding the preparation of a white paper on the June 3 presidential election defeat, he said, "If we create the white paper first and then develop innovation plans, there will not be much time left, so we decided to form a separate task force to work on the white paper while we focus on drafting innovation plans," and added, "Song said he would consider that approach."
Previously, after meeting Song the day before, Ahn had said, "The first thing we need to do is a diagnosis, so we should start with the white paper," and added, "Once the new party leader is elected, I suggested that it would be good to refer to the white paper when carrying out reforms."
Ahn also stated, "We need administrative support," and added, "We discussed assigning separate personnel so that a director or manager can be fully dedicated to assisting our committee."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
