'Third Presidential Bid' Ahn Cheol-soo: "A Scientist President Is Urgently Needed... I Will Accept Midterm Evaluation"

Ahn Cheol-soo, leader of the People’s Party, is holding a declaration ceremony for his candidacy in the 20th presidential election in front of the fountain at the National Assembly lawn plaza on the 1st. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Geum Bo-ryeong] Ahn Cheol-soo, leader of the People’s Party, officially announced his candidacy for the 20th presidential election.

On the morning of the 1st at 10 a.m., Ahn held a press conference in front of the fountain at the National Assembly lawn plaza to declare his candidacy, stating, "I truly want to revive the Republic of Korea," and "I will step forward as a 'national manager' with a strategic mindset to create a better Korea." This marks Ahn’s third presidential bid, following his runs in 2012 and 2017.

Ahn focused on the field of science. He emphasized, "A scientist president who bases governance on common sense, reason, and fact-based scientific thinking is urgently needed," and added, "I will lay the foundation for a vaccine sovereign nation, an AI-leading nation, and a semiconductor hegemonic nation." Along with this, he pledged to create the position of Deputy Prime Minister for Science and Technology to transition to a science and technology-centered national system.

He sharpened his criticism toward ruling and opposition presidential candidates. Ahn said, "The people call this the 'Nom Nom Nom election,' but they worry because there are only bad nom, strange nom, and ugly nom," and criticized, "The ruling party candidate shamelessly spreads lies after designing a real estate corruption cartel’s crimes to share astronomical illicit profits, while opposition candidates fail to present a vision for a new era and instead plunge the people into despair with archaic shamanistic controversies and verbal abuse competitions."

Targeting the current administration, he stated, "Economic incompetence, security incompetence, vaccine incompetence, and privatization of power focused on protecting my side and fattening only my side," and criticized, "A corrupt regime that only enriches a few power holders parasitizing the government, and a regime of demagogues whose policies focus solely on winning votes."

Ahn mentioned "new politics" and proposed a "mid-term evaluation" during his term. He said, "If I fail to gain more than 50% public trust through an investigation method agreed upon by both ruling and opposition parties at mid-term after being elected, or if the party I belong to does not become the first party in the 22nd general election, I will step down cleanly," and added, "I also recommend all other candidates promise a mid-term evaluation."

He continued, "This will be an opportunity to abandon the governance style of arrogance and stubbornness, establish a president who keeps promises, and politics that takes responsibility," and raised his voice, "If elected, I will work with a death-defying resolve to pass the mid-term evaluation. I will work and work again with a sense of mission to revive the country."

Ahn also appealed to the people for support. He said, "If you think Korea cannot continue like this, give me a chance," and promised, "I will work through the night and leap onto the world stage."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.