Ahn Cheol-soo facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Ahn Cheol-soo
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안철수
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Ahn in 2025
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| Member of the National Assembly | |
| Assumed office 1 June 2022 |
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| Preceded by | Kim Eun-hye |
| Constituency | Seongnam Bundang A (Gyeonggi) |
| In office 25 April 2013 – 15 April 2017 |
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| Preceded by | Roh Hoe-chan |
| Succeeded by | Kim Seong-hwan (2018) |
| Constituency | Nowon C |
| Leader of the New Politics Alliance for Democracy | |
| In office 26 March 2014 – 31 July 2014 Serving with Kim Han-gil
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| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Moon Jae-in |
| Leader of the People Party (2016–2018) | |
| In office 2 February 2016 – 29 June 2016 Serving with Chun Jung-bae
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| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Park Jie-won |
| In office 27 August 2017 – 13 February 2018 |
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| Preceded by | Park Jie-won |
| Succeeded by | Position abolished |
| Leader of the People Party (2020–2022) | |
| In office 23 February 2020 – 18 April 2022 |
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| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Position abolished |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 26 February 1962 Miryang, South Korea |
| Political party | PPP (since 2022) |
| Other political affiliations |
Independent (2012–2014; 2015–2016) NPAD (2014–2015) People's (2016–2018) Bareunmirae (2018–2020) People's (2020–2022) |
| Spouse | Kim Mi-kyung |
| Children | 1 |
| Alma mater | |
| Occupation |
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| Known for | V3 (antivirus software) |
| Religion | Roman Catholic (Christian name: Paul Chong Hasang) |
| Signature |  |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  South Korea |
| Branch/service |  Republic of Korea Navy |
| Years of service | 1992–1994 |
| Rank |  Daewi (Lieutenant) |
| Korean name | |
| Hangul |
안철수
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| Hanja |
安哲秀
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| RR | An Cheolsu |
| MR | An Ch'ŏlsu |
| IPA | [an tɕʰʌl.s͈u] |
Ahn Cheol-soo (Korean: 안철수; pronounced [an tɕʰʌl.s͈u]; born 26 February 1962) is a South Korean politician, medical doctor, and businessperson. He is also a software entrepreneur. He is currently a member of the National Assembly, which is like the parliament of South Korea. He belongs to the conservative People Power Party.
Before becoming a politician, Ahn Cheol-soo started a company called AhnLab, Inc. in 1995. This company made antivirus software to protect computers from harmful programs. He was the chairman of AhnLab until 2012 and still owns a large part of the company. He also worked as a professor at Seoul National University. When he first entered politics in 2012, he was seen as a more liberal politician. Later, he was considered a centrist, and now he is known as a right-wing politician.
Ahn Cheol-soo first tried to become president in the 2012 South Korean presidential election. He later supported another candidate, Moon Jae-in. In the 2017 South Korean presidential election, he ran as a third-party candidate but lost to Moon Jae-in. He ran again in the 2022 South Korean presidential election and then supported Yoon Suk Yeol, who won. Ahn also ran for mayor of Seoul in 2018 and 2021.
In 2014, Ahn helped start the New Politics Alliance for Democracy. He later left this party and helped create the People Party in 2016. He led this party for some time. In 2018, the People Party merged with another party to form the Bareunmirae Party. In 2020, Ahn started a new party, also called the People Party. This party later merged with the People Power Party in 2022. Since then, he has been a member of the People Power Party.
Contents
- Early Life and Education
- Business Career
- Political Career
- Political Views
- Helping Others
- Personal Life
- Images for kids
- See also
Early Life and Education
Ahn Cheol-soo was born on 26 February 1962, in Miryang, South Korea. His family later moved to Busan, where he grew up. As a child, he enjoyed academic hobbies like reading.
He studied at Seoul National University from 1980 to 1991. He earned degrees in medicine and a PhD in physiology. At 27, he became the youngest chief professor at Dankook University medical college. He met his wife, Kim Mi-kyung, while in university.
While studying medicine, Ahn became interested in computer software, especially antivirus software. He started creating his own antivirus program after a computer virus spread widely in Korea. He named his program "Vaccine" and gave it away for free to help people.
Business Career
Starting AhnLab, Inc.
After serving in the South Korean navy as a medical officer, Ahn Cheol-soo decided to leave his medical career. In March 1995, he started his own company, AhnLab, Inc. He had previously tried to work with Samsung to distribute his antivirus software, V3, but they declined.
Running a business was difficult for Ahn at first. He also studied for a master's degree in engineering at the University of Pennsylvania, graduating in 1997. Later, a large US software company, McAfee, offered him $10 million to buy AhnLab. Ahn met with John McAfee but turned down the offer. He believed selling his company would cause many people to lose their jobs and allow a foreign company to control the Korean market.
In 1999, AhnLab started making a profit after the CIH virus spread in Korea, and many people needed V3 to protect their computers. By the end of 1999, AhnLab, Inc. became the second-largest computer security company in South Korea. That same year, he received the Scientist of the Year Award.
AhnLab grew to become the largest computer security company in South Korea. It was often listed among Korea's most admired companies. Ahn resigned as CEO in 2005 but remained chairman of the board until 2012.
Later Education and Teaching
In 2005, Ahn became a director at POSCO, a large steel company. From 2010 to 2011, he was the chairman of POSCO.
Ahn earned another degree, an Executive Master of Business Administration (EMBA), from the Wharton School in 2008. He then became a professor at KAIST in 2008. In 2011, he became the Dean of the Graduate School of Convergence Science and Technology at Seoul National University.
Political Career
Entering Politics
Since 2006, Ahn had been asked to join major political parties. However, he wanted to run as an independent candidate, but this was often difficult due to political disagreements.
In September 2011, people began to wonder if Ahn would run for mayor of Seoul. Both the Democratic Party and the Grand National Party tried to get him to join them. Ahn felt that many voters, including himself, were tired of the main political parties. He announced that he was unsure about running but felt that helping Seoul would take a lot of effort.
Ahn's popularity in polls was very high, even reaching over 50%. Despite this, he decided not to run for mayor. Instead, he supported Park Won-soon, who then won the election. Many believed Park's victory was due to Ahn's support, as it encouraged many voters to choose Park.
Ahn hinted at running for president in his 2012 book, Thoughts of Ahn Cheol-Soo.
2012 Presidential Campaign
On 19 September 2012, Ahn Cheol-soo announced that he would run for president in the 2012 South Korean presidential election. This announcement came after many months of speculation. In his speech, Ahn explained that he decided to run because people he met wanted a "new politics." At one point, polls showed Ahn was very popular and might even win against Park Geun-hye, who eventually won the election. On 23 November 2012, Ahn decided to drop out of the race and supported Moon Jae-in, another candidate.
Serving in the National Assembly (2013–2016)
On 11 March 2013, Ahn announced he would run for a seat in the National Assembly of South Korea as an independent. He won the election on 24 April, becoming an elected official for the first time. In May 2013, he started a new research group called Policy Network Tomorrow.
Leading the New Politics Alliance for Democracy (2014)
After joining the Assembly, Ahn thought about creating a new political party. On 26 March 2014, he merged his group with the Democratic Party to form the New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD). He became a co-leader of this new party with Kim Han-gil. However, Ahn and Kim both resigned from their leadership roles in July, just three months later. This was because the new party did not do well in some special elections that year.
Leaving the NPAD (2015)
Ahn stayed with the NPAD but often disagreed with Moon Jae-in, who became the party's sole leader. In December 2015, Ahn asked Moon to hold a meeting to choose a new party leader, but Moon refused. Ahn then left the NPAD, along with other lawmakers who disagreed with Moon. He announced he would form a new party. In January 2016, he joined with Chun Jung-bae to create the People Party. After Ahn left, Moon resigned as leader, saying his time was "a series of difficult days."
First People Party (2016–2018)
Ahn presented the new People Party as a middle-ground force, attracting support from different political groups. He called the remaining NPAD "old-fashioned" and said that many Korean politicians lacked good policies. Before the 2016 South Korean legislative election, Ahn disagreed with his co-leader Chun about forming an alliance with the Democratic Party. Ahn refused any alliance with his former party.
The People Party did better than expected in the election. They won 38 seats and became an important third party in the Assembly. Ahn was praised for this success, which made him a key figure in politics and boosted his chances for the 2017 South Korean presidential election. After the election, Ahn continued to reject calls to rejoin the Democratic Party. He stated that the People Party would be a "new opinion leader" in parliament.
2017 Presidential Campaign
Ahn was a strong candidate for the 2017 South Korean presidential election. He was chosen as the People Party's candidate. Although his popularity grew quickly and briefly surpassed Moon Jae-in, Ahn struggled in TV debates. He finished third among five candidates.
Returning to Party Leadership (2017–2018)
After his presidential campaign did not go as planned and a party scandal occurred, Ahn announced in July 2017 that he would step back from politics to "self-reflect." He returned a month later and won the party leadership again.
Bareunmirae Party (2018–2020)
As the leader of the People Party, Ahn strongly supported merging with the center-right Bareun Party. Ahn and Yoo Seong-min, the leader of the Bareun Party, pushed for the merger. The two parties combined to form the Bareunmirae Party in February 2018.
Ahn stepped down from a leadership role in the new party. However, in March 2018, he took on the role of leading the party's talent recruiting committee. This was seen as a sign that he might run for mayor of Seoul later that year.
Time Away from Politics (2018–2020)
After losing the Seoul mayoral race in June 2018, Ahn took a break from politics. He moved to Germany in September 2018 to study, and then to the United States. Ahn later said that observing political systems in Europe influenced his ideas for political reform in Korea.
Second People Party (2020–2022)
On 29 January 2020, Ahn started a new party called the People Party. This was a separate group from the Bareunmirae Party. Ahn said he left the Bareunmirae Party because he disagreed with its leader. The Bareunmirae Party later dissolved in February 2020.
The new People Party was officially registered on 23 February 2020. Ahn continued to lead it.
In March 2020, it was reported that Ahn and his wife, Kim Mi-kyung, were helping with medical services during the COVID-19 pandemic in Daegu. Ahn was able to treat patients because he had kept his doctor's medical license.
In April 2020, he started a 14-day cross-country marathon, covering 400 kilometers.
2021 Seoul Mayoral Campaign
In December 2020, it was reported that Ahn planned to run again for mayor of Seoul in the 2021 South Korean by-elections. Ahn officially registered as a candidate. However, after losing to Oh Se-hoon in a poll, Ahn withdrew from the race. He did this to help unite the opposition parties. Oh Se-hoon then won the mayoral election.
2022 Presidential Campaign
Before announcing his presidential campaign in the 2022 South Korean presidential election, Ahn talked with Lee Jun-seok, the leader of the People Power Party. They discussed a possible merger between their parties. These talks failed in August 2021 due to disagreements, such as Ahn wanting the People Power Party to change its name.
On 1 November 2021, Ahn Cheol-soo announced he would run for president in the 2022 election. He was chosen as the People Party's candidate with 92% of the votes.
On 3 March 2022, just six days before the presidential election, Ahn dropped out of the race. He had about 10% support in polls. Ahn then supported Yoon Suk Yeol, the People Power Party candidate, who won the election by a small margin.
On 18 April, Ahn announced that his People Party would merge with the People Power Party. The People Party was then officially closed.
People Power Party (2022–Present)
Serving in the National Assembly (2022–)
After the People Party merged with the People Power Party on 18 April 2022, Ahn became a member of the People Power Party.
On 8 May 2022, Ahn announced he would run for a vacant seat in the National Assembly in the Seongnam Bundang District A area. He won the seat on 1 June 2022, with 62.5% of the votes.
2023 Leadership Election
In 2023, Ahn decided to run for the leadership of the People Power Party. Even though he had supported Yoon Suk Yeol in the presidential election, the Presidential Office criticized Ahn during his campaign. He lost to Kim Gi-hyeon, coming in second place with 23.37% of the votes.
2024 Political Events
Ahn was the only People Power Party lawmaker who stayed in the building when other Assembly members walked out before the impeachment vote for President Yoon Suk Yeol. Ahn and Yoon had disagreed several times before, partly because Ahn has more moderate political views compared to Yoon's conservative ones. Ahn had previously asked Yoon to step down. He stated he would vote for impeachment unless Yoon resigned, regardless of his party. Only Ahn and Kim Ye-ji voted for impeachment. Ahn said he was criticized by his party for his vote.
2025 Presidential Campaign
Four days after former President Yoon Suk Yeol was removed from office by the Constitutional Court, Ahn announced his candidacy for the snap 2025 South Korean presidential election on 8 April. He chose Gwanghwamun Square, a place that symbolizes national unity, for his announcement. He described Lee Jae-myung, the opposition party leader, as the "weakest opponent." Ahn supported the idea of changing the constitution to give more power to the legislature. He also called for unity within the People Power Party after Yoon's impeachment.
Ahn said he could appeal to many different voters because of his character and varied career. On 12 April, Ahn announced his ten main promises for his campaign. These included changes to pensions, improving housing, ensuring energy independence, and strengthening South Korea's alliance with the United States.
Ahn advised acting President Han Duck-soo not to run for president. He said he was running because he felt a "sense of crisis" and saw the rise of new technologies like artificial intelligence. Ahn believed that only he could defeat an opposition party candidate. He also said his main promise, if he won the party's nomination, would be to change the constitution to reduce the power of both the President and the National Assembly. He suggested reducing the presidential term from five years to four or three.
On 18 April, he urged Yoon Suk Yeol to leave the party, saying it would show the party's responsibility for the recent political events.
On 29 April, Ahn lost in the final primary elections held by the People Power Party.
Political Views
Middle Ground Politics
Ahn's ideas on foreign policy are somewhat similar to those of South Korean conservatives. He believes in a stronger approach towards North Korea and supports the THAAD system, even though he initially opposed it. In September 2012, Ahn visited the graves of Syngman Rhee, Park Chung Hee, and Kim Dae-jung. These figures are often praised by conservatives and liberals. Ahn said it would be wrong to treat half the people as enemies while calling for unity. Ahn is seen as more appealing to conservative voters partly because of his business background. He has said that if he became president, he would work with lawmakers from other parties and build personal relationships, inspired by how President Barack Obama worked with the Republican Party in the United States.
National Security (THAAD)
Ahn was one of the first people to oppose the American deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system, along with Moon Jae-in. However, he later changed his mind, saying it would be "irresponsible" for any future president to reverse an agreement already made between the United States and Korea.
LGBT Rights
Ahn has stated that he opposes the legalization of same-sex marriage. However, in a more detailed article, he said that same-sex marriage needs to be discussed by society. When asked if he would attend the Queer Parade, he replied that "the right to refuse should also be respected."
Helping Others
In December 2011, Ahn said he would donate half of his shares in AhnLab to help educate children from low-income families. He owned 37.1 percent of AhnLab shares, and the value of the shares he planned to donate was about 250 billion won (around $218 million at the time).
Personal Life
In 1988, Ahn married Kim Mi-kyung, who is now a professor at the Seoul National University College of Medicine. They live in Seongnam and have one daughter.
Ahn enjoys running marathons. As of 2025, he has participated in the Seoul International Marathon six times.
Images for kids
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Ahn Cheol-soo's signature
See also
In Spanish: Ahn Cheol-soo para niños
