Ahn not afraid of being hurt in presidential race: interviewer
Ahn Cheol-soo, a popular software developer and professor who grabbed the media spotlight last week by strongly hinting at his presidential ambitions, has said he is not afraid of being hurt in the campaigning process, although he has yet to set his mind on the race, his interviewer said Monday.
Ahn has widely been regarded as a potential opposition contender who would pose a serious challenge to the ruling party's frontrunner Park Geun-hye in December's presidential election.
He has never committed himself to the top political job, but the release of his new book Thursday prompted media speculation the 50-year-old may be throwing his hat into the ring. The book, titled "Ahn Cheol-soo's Thoughts," immediately set new sales records at bookstores nationwide.
"I am not afraid of being hurt or ruined (in the presidential race)," Jae Jeong-im, who interviewed Ahn for the book, told a local radio program on her conversations with the potential presidential aspirant.
The book was written in the form of a dialogue between Ahn and Jae, a journalist-turned-professor at Korea's Semyung University Graduate School of Journalism.
"I am simply thinking hard about whether it is right for me to run in the (race)," Ahn was quoted as saying. "I have some level of confidence because I have tried to live a life that is not embarrassing."
A former medical doctor and the founder of anti-virus software firm AhnLab, Ahn currently serves as dean of the Graduate School of Convergence Science and Technology at Seoul National University. He is widely popular, especially among young Koreans, due largely to his clean and upright image.
Ahn's political influence was demonstrated last October when his backing helped an independent candidate become mayor of Seoul. His approval ratings as a presidential candidate have since climbed to among the highest.
"Even if I am discredited, hurt, or even if I take a few bullets, I will be able to bear it if that is the path I have to follow," Ahn said of his possible bid for president, according to Jae.
In the book, the professor outlines his thoughts on wide-ranging issues and offers his vision for the country, including the establishment of a just and fair welfare state and the creation of a policy for a peaceful Korean Peninsula.
He also writes about his personal life and his views on justice, welfare and conglomerates, on top of such issues as non-regular workers, strikes across the media industry and inter-Korean relations.
Commenting on the book, Lee Hae-chan, the chairman of the main opposition Democratic United Party (DUP), said he could sense Ahn's "strong will" to enter the presidential race from skimming through the book.
"His policies are almost similar to those of the DUP, and his opposition to the rule of the (ruling) Saenuri Party is clear, so I don't expect it to be difficult (for us) to agree on a single candidate," Lee said at a meeting with foreign correspondents in Seoul.
The party chairman set October as the timeline for a single opposition candidate to emerge, saying a DUP candidate was likely to win the ticket for the December polls in a three-way race between the DUP, Ahn and the minor opposition Unified Progressive Party.
President Lee Myung-bak is scheduled to step down in February at the end of a single five-year term, and under the Constitution, he can't seek re-election.
Meanwhile, a pre-recorded interview with Ahn is scheduled to air on a popular TV show Monday night, in what local media view as another step in his presidential campaign. (Yonhap)