I am an editorial writer at The Korea Times, focusing on foreign policy, North Korea and domestic politics. My key areas of interest include North Korea, foreign interference in elections, election integrity, cyberattacks and human rights. Prior to joining the Editorial Board, I served as both Politics Desk editor and Culture Desk editor. During my career, I have reported on the Presidential Office under the Lee Myung-bak administration, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Assembly.
Ahn quits leading state think tank
By Kang Hyun-kyung
Doctor-turned-IT mogul Ahn Cheol-soo offered to resign as chief of the Advanced Institutes of Convergence and Technology (AICT), a state-run think tank, Friday amid political pressure from the provincial council to cut off funding.
But Ahn will retain his post as Seoul National University professor and dean of the Graduate School of Convergence Science and Technology.
In a letter submitted to the university president, the founder of anti-virus software AhnLab was quoted as saying that he offered to resign for personal reasons. He declined to elaborate why he decided to step down from the post.
His offer to resign came days after members of the Gyeonggi Provincial Council, who were affiliated with the ruling Grand National Party (GNP), denounced his announcement to endorse Park Won-soon in the Seoul mayoral election last week.
In a statement released last Tuesday, the GNP members condemned Ahn, who is technically a civil servant as he works at a national university, for his support for a politician in the election.
They threatened to cut off annual funding that the provincial council provides to the AICT chaired by Ahn unless he stops his political involvement.
Under the election law, professors of state universities are allowed to campaign for a particular candidate in elections.
The AICT is a state-run think tank located on Seoul National University campus.
In 2008, the central government and the Gyeonggi Provincial Government co-established the institute with an initial funding of 143 billion won.
Since then, Gyeonggi Province has provided 3.5 billion won a year for the operation of the think tank.
Analysts say the threat to cut the annual budget probably caused Ahn to feel pressured.
Ahn is widely viewed as the key person who enabled Park Won-soon to win the Seoul mayoral election. Support for Park had remained at in single-digits before Ahn gave up the race to support the former civic group activist. Park’s popularity soared after Ahn’s official backing.