Ahn Chul-soo’s political plans still unknown

Posted on : 2012-04-17 13:29 KST Modified on : 2012-04-17 13:29 KST
Software mogul laying low while others speculate about his intentions

By Kim Bo-hyup, staff writer

After its losses in last week’s general election, the Democratic United Party (DUP) is considering its need to recruit fresh blood to make itself more appealing to voters. Software mogul Ahn Chul-soo could be the answer to the party‘s problems.

Prominent DUP lawmakers Park Jie-won and Kim Hyo-suk and recently elected Lee Jong-kul made separate calls for Ahn’s recruitment while appearing on radio programs Monday. The format was an interview with the JoongAng Ilbo that claimed that Ahn was steeling his resolve to run in December’s presidential election, quoting a “prominent opposition figure” and a “key associate” of Ahn. Lee even made reference to dates and specific places.

Park, a member of the DUP’s supreme council, said, “If [Ahn] does go into politics, I hope he joins the mainstream,” Park continued. “The desirable course would be for him to join the DUP, compete with DUP candidates, and build his profile in that way.”

During a press interview the previous day, Lee said, “The preferable thing would be to bring in Ahn Chul-soo, who has a lot of popular support, and elect him as party chairman.”

On Monday, Lee said, “It seems like [Ahn] has determined that he wants to fulfill some kind of responsibility and play a part in South Korean political history.

"If the DUP doesn’t make some kind of decision in the next one or two months, it is less and less likely that Professor Ahn will be able to join with the DUP."

Based on his previous role as a bridge between Ahn and various policy experts, Kim Hyo-suk is suspected of being the "prominent opposition figure" cited in the JoongAng Ilbo article. In his interview, Kim said, "Due to the recent election, I haven’t seen him [Ahn] for the past few months, so we don’t know what he might be preparing.

“All Professor Ahn has said is that while he doesn’t need to run if the established politicians are doing a good job, he wouldn’t shy away from playing the role of ‘kindling’ if they’re not,” Kim said. “I think it’s really a bit early for us to reach any conclusions about whether he will be running.”

Kim issued a press release Sunday which read, “We need to make sure we can work not only with party figures like Moon Jae-in, Sohn Hak-kyu, and Kim Doo-kwan, but also Ahn Chul-soo from outside the party. It is not important that we ask Professor Ahn to join the party. The question is whether our party is prepared to accept Professor Ahn’s policies and philosophy. We ought to consider whether it is fair to ask Professor Ahn to work with us without having first made those preparations.”

The reason behind the growing calls for Ahn’s recruitment is a sense of deep concern. The results of the general election have the party worried that any of its candidates will be able to beat Park Geun-hye in December’s presidential election.

While Ahn does appear to be losing some of his support, the view is that he is the only real match for Park since making tentative steps toward politics in the lead-up to the Seoul mayoral by-election last September.

The problem is that the party is counting chickens that have yet to hatch. Ahn’s “key associates” have unanimously called the speculation premature. One dismissed the JoongAng Ilbo report by saying, “Not only does it not sound like Ahn Chul-soo, but it looks to be just a patchwork of things that have come out over the last several months.”

Ahn himself said in a Mar. 27 talk at SNU that he would “not rely on any particular affiliation-based thinking” if he did go into politics.

Acquaintances of Ahn’s have said his recent focus has been on his course lectures, without any major outside activities. Gang In-cheol, an attorney with the A1 law firm who is counted among Ahn’s closest friends, said Ahn hoped to “increase the freedom of his future activities.”

Ahn’s class this semester is on entrepreneurial thinking, a major course for Seoul National University’s (SNU) Graduate School of Convergence Science and Technology. Aside from this three-hour class on Fridays, he is focusing his time on research and activities as dean of the graduate school. Despite multiple requests from around the country for special talks, he reportedly has no plans to speak publicly at this time.

Previously, he urged young people to vote at a series of special talks given ahead of the Apr. 11 general election at locations like SNU, Chonnam National University, and Kyungpook National University.

Gang also said Ahn was not involved in any meetings seeking instruction from experts in inter-Korean issues, welfare, and South Korean politics as he was last year.

“There’s too much interest in Ahn Chul-soo right now,” Gang said. “Everything he says and does gets picked apart, and that‘s frustrating for him.

"It’s also a burden for him to have all this attention focused on him whenever he meets somebody," Gang added.

But a working-level group linked to his "Youth Concerts" has been seen taking shape in what observers are reading as preparations for an active role for Ahn in politics.

The concerts brought national recognition to Ahn and Andong Shinsegae Clinic director Park Kyung-chul, turning them into icons of "solace for the young."

The implication is that members of this group would provide logistical support if Ahn does declare his candidacy.

Gang said he had no knowledge of any such activity. "It doesn’t look like they’ve reached any agreement or accord with Ahn himself," he added.

 

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]

 

Most viewed articles