Daughter joins Ahn Cheol-soo's presidential campaign

Ahn Surl-hee, Postdoctoral Scholar in Chemistry and Biochemistry at University of California San Diego, and daughter of People's Party presidential candidate Ahn Cheol-soo, speaks during her appearance in a video clip uploaded on the candidate's official YouTube channel, Tuesday. Captured from YouTube

By Nam Hyun-woo

Ahn Surl-hee, the daughter of People's Party presidential candidate Ahn Cheol-soo, joined her father's election campaign, by uploading YouTube video clips of herself to enhance communication with supporters.

The younger Ahn appears on a YouTube video uploaded on the candidate's official YouTube channel on Tuesday. In the clip, she said she wants to show "the other side of Ahn Cheol-soo as a father, rather than a politician."

She said she will communicate with supporters and viewers through vlogs on her father's channel, adding "comments will be very helpful."

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Daughter Ahn is a Postdoctoral Scholar in Chemistry and Biochemistry at University of California San Diego. She earned her Ph. D. in chemistry at Stanford University, and won the Gordon Bell Special Prize in 2020 for her team's research on the topic of "AI-driven multiscale simulations illuminate mechanisms of SARS-CoV-2 spike dynamics."

According to Ahn's party, the daughter arrived in Korea on Jan. 23 to spend the upcoming Lunar New Year holidays with her family, but she is expected to assist her father's campaign after spending 10 days under quarantine.

Before entering Korea, she appeared in a Jan. 16 video clip of a video call with her father. When her father asked her about the difficulties she faces as a daughter of a politician, she said her father's defeat in elections hurt her feelings the most, but added she, as a young Korean, is thankful that people like her father can become politicians.

Ahn's public appearances through video clips gain attention as it is not the first time that she gained media attention related to her father's political bid.

During his father's campaign in the previous 2017 presidential election, she suffered from snowballing speculations that she enjoys a luxurious lifestyle thanks to his father wealth. To counter the speculation, Ahn's party, the People's Party, disclosed her annual earnings of $30,000 as well as her cash deposits, insurance policies and the market value of her car.

As she backs her father's campaign this time, pundits said the No. 3 candidate will likely distinguish himself from other leading candidates, who are suffering from suspicions related to their family members. Main opposition People Power Party presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol is grappling with doubts on the authenticity of his wife's career information included in her resume, while ruling Democratic Party of Korea candidate Lee Jae-myung is mired with evidence of his verbal abuse against his brother's wife.

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