Ahn to decide on bid for Seoul mayor soon

By Lee Tae-hoon

Ahn Cheol-soo, founder of the antivirus software firm AhnLab, said Monday that he will soon decide whether to run in the upcoming Seoul mayoral by-election after holding a meeting with Park Won-soon, a lawyer and executive director of the Hope Institute.

Park, who is enjoying wide support among civic organizations, is also considered another strong candidate for the mayoral race.

“I’m planning to hold a private meeting with him early this week,” Ahn was quoted as saying by OhmyNews, an Internet news service. “I’ll make up my mind on whether to enter the race or not by the middle of this week at the latest.”

The medical doctor-turned-computer expert suggested that he is willing to give up his bid to support Park.

“Park seems to be very determined about his bid for Seoul mayor,” he said. “As I respect him, I will decide on whether to run in the election after talking to him.”

He hinted at throwing his hat in the mayoral race Friday as an independent candidate, fuelling speculation over the possibility of creating a new political party.

Ahn said if Park wants his support, he is willing to give it.

“If he really wants that, supporting him could be an option,” he said. “As for the probability of my bid, it is half and half, swaying somewhere between 51 to 49 percent.”

Recent surveys show that Ahn is comfortably leading other possible contenders for the upcoming Seoul mayoral race slated for Oct. 26.

A survey of 1,006 Seoulites by Gallup Korea Saturday found that Ahn commands a strong lead among 10 potential candidates with support of 39.5 percent, followed by Rep. Na Kyung-won of the governing Grand National Party (GNP) with 13 percent and former Prime Minister Han Myeong-sook with 10.9 percent.

Another survey of 500 Seoulites by GH Korea over the weekend also showed that Ahn commands support of 36.7 percent, far ahead of Na with 17.3 percent and Han with 12.8 percent.

Political parties showed mixed responses to Ahn’s strong support.

“People usually pay attention to fresh figures not affiliated with parties and give them credit,” GNP leader Hong Joon-pyo said.

Na, the GNP’s frontrunner, warned that politicians should view Ahn’s popularity as a wakeup call. “We should consider Ahn’s popularity as a sign from the population to end old politics and change,” she said.

Ahn, now dean of the Graduate School of Convergence Science and Technology at Seoul National University, is an iconic national figure for his integrity and high standards of managing corporate social responsibility.

DP leader Sohn Hak-kyu has invited Ahn to join his party to steer the liberal coalition to victory.

“Those who oppose the GNP should be in the same boat,” Sohn said, urging Ahn to join the party convention to compete with other candidates in the liberal bloc.

The Seoul mayoralty was vacated late last month when conservative Mayor Oh Se-hoon stepped down after failing to block an opposition-led free school lunch program in the city’s first-ever referendum.

Observers say the mayoral by-election will serve as a litmus test of public sentiment ahead of parliamentary elections next April and the presidential race later in December.