'Political reform should precede alliance'

By Jun Ji-hye, Ryu Chang-gi

Software mogul-turned-politician Ahn Cheol-soo cited the need for political reform that the people want to see, Wednesday, terming it as a precondition for the possible formation of an alliance with the opposition camp.

He also emphasized that the nation needs a leader equipped with a digital mind along with “horizontal leadership” to solve various problems from a comprehensive perspective.

Question: Many doubt about your ability to lead the nation due to a lack of political experience.

Answer: Right, I do not have experience in politics. But I’m not sure whether a rich political experience is necessarily a good thing. What is needed for us in the 21st century is a digital mind alongside a horizontal leadership. My experiences in various fields such as IT, medicine and management will help me (run the nation).

Q: What should be done to minimize the negative fallout of the European economic crisis?

A: Economic matters cannot be swept away by one expert or one government department’s efforts. We need a convergent way of thinking to collect the right people and the right departments to solve the problem; and that is what I have done so far.

Q: Will you complete the presidential race as an independent candidate?

A: All challenges that we encounter these days cannot be solved by one party or one regime. We need unification and harmony, so I proposed fair competition to the other two candidates in order to give hope to the public.

Q: Are you going to form a new party or join an established party? Will you stay in politics even if you lose the election?

A: True renovation in the political sphere is needed and the public’s agreement on it is also necessary. If the election campaign is conducted with these two rules, parties will be reformed to respect the will of the people. I have changed my jobs several times but I never quit them in the middle. As I have decided to be a politician, I will continue to help develop the nation regardless of the result of the election.

Q: What can be done to bring about change in politics?

A: There are two principles that I have set out. The first is to introduce genuine change and innovation. The second is to seek agreement from the people on reform.

Q: How will you response to negative campaigning?

A: Malicious negative campaigning is the worst part of “old politics.” I’d like to publicly ask my opponents to check the facts behind the rumors that have been raised.