Ahn Cheol-soo facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Ahn Cheol-soo
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안철수
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Ahn in 2023.
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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 | People Power |
| Other political affiliations |
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| Spouse | Kim Mi-kyung |
| Children | 1 daughter |
| 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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| Revised Romanization | An Cheolsu |
| McCune–Reischauer | An Ch'ŏlsu |
Ahn Cheol-soo (Hangul: 안철수; born 26 February 1962) is a well-known South Korean politician, medical doctor, and businessperson. He is famous for starting an antivirus software company called AhnLab, Inc. in 1995. Before becoming a politician, he was also a professor at Seoul National University.
Ahn Cheol-soo is currently a member of the National Assembly, which is like the parliament or congress in South Korea. He belongs to the People Power Party. He has run for president of South Korea three times, in 2012, 2017, and 2022. He has also been a leader of several political parties.
Contents
- Early Life and Education
- Business Career
- Political Career
- Political Ideas
- Helping Others
- Personal Life
- See Also
Early Life and Education
Ahn Cheol-soo was born on 26 February 1962, in Miryang, South Korea. He grew up in Busan. As a child, he enjoyed reading and had many academic hobbies.
He studied at Seoul National University, where he earned degrees in medicine and physiology between 1980 and 1991. At just 27 years old, he became the youngest chief professor at Dankook University medical college. This was his first big achievement as a doctor.
While he was a student, Ahn became very interested in computer software, especially antivirus software. He started working on his own antivirus program after a computer virus spread widely in Korea. He even got infected by the virus himself! He then created a program to remove it, which he called "Vaccine." He gave this program away for free to help others.
Business Career
Starting AhnLab, Inc.
After serving in the South Korean navy as a medical officer, Ahn Cheol-soo decided to change his career. He left medicine and started his own company, AhnLab, Inc., in March 1995.
Running a business was tough at first, and Ahn faced many challenges. While building his company, he also studied for a master's degree in engineering at the University of Pennsylvania, graduating in 1997.
An American software company, McAfee, offered him $10 million to buy AhnLab. McAfee wanted to control the antivirus market in South Korea. However, Ahn refused the offer. Even though his company was struggling, he didn't want to sell because it might lead to job losses and allow a foreign company to take over the Korean market.
In 1999, AhnLab started to do very well. This was partly because a computer virus called CIH became widespread, and many people needed AhnLab's V3 software to protect their computers. By the end of 1999, AhnLab, Inc. became the second-largest computer security company in South Korea. That same year, Ahn won the Scientist of the Year Award.
AhnLab grew to become the biggest computer security company in South Korea. It was even listed as one of Korea's most admired companies for several years. Ahn stepped down as CEO in 2005 but remained chairman of the board until 2012.
Later Studies and Teaching
Ahn Cheol-soo continued his education, earning an Executive Master of Business Administration (EMBA) degree 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
Ahn Cheol-soo had been asked to join major political parties since 2006. However, he always wanted to run as an independent candidate, meaning he wouldn't belong to a specific party.
In 2011, there was talk that Ahn might run for mayor of Seoul. He felt that many voters, including himself, were tired of the main political parties. He decided not to run for mayor but instead supported another candidate, Park Won-soon, who then won the election. Many people believe Park's win was because Ahn supported him.
Ahn hinted that he might run for president in his 2012 book, Thoughts of Ahn Cheol-Soo.
Presidential Campaign (2012)
On 19 September 2012, Ahn Cheol-soo officially announced his plan to run for president in the 2012 South Korean presidential election. This was a big moment after many months of people wondering if he would run. He talked about wanting "new politics" for South Korea.
At one point, polls showed Ahn was very popular, even more so than Moon Jae-in, another strong candidate. Some polls even suggested he could win against Park Geun-hye, who eventually became president. However, on 23 November 2012, Ahn decided to drop out of the race. He then supported Moon Jae-in.
Member of the National Assembly (2013–2016)
After the presidential election, Ahn decided to run for a seat in the National Assembly of South Korea. He ran as an independent candidate in Seoul's Nowon District C and won the election on 24 April 2013. This was his first time holding an elected office. In May 2013, he started a new research group called Policy Network Tomorrow.
Leading the New Politics Alliance for Democracy (2014)
Ahn wanted to create a new political party. In March 2014, he decided to merge his group with the Democratic Party to form a new party called the New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD). He became a co-leader of this new party with Kim Han-gil.
However, after a few months, Ahn and Kim resigned from their leadership roles in July. This was because the new party did not do as well as hoped in some special elections that year.
Leaving the NPAD (2015)
Ahn stayed with the NPAD for a while, but he started to disagree more and more with Moon Jae-in, who had become the party's main leader. In December 2015, Ahn left the NPAD, along with other lawmakers. He announced that he would form a new party.
He then joined forces with Chun Jung-bae to create the People Party in January 2016.
First People Party (2016–2018)
Ahn positioned the new People Party as a middle-ground political force, attracting supporters from different political views. He believed that many politicians were not focused on long-term solutions.
In the 2016 South Korean legislative election, the People Party did much better than expected. They won 38 seats in the National Assembly, becoming an important third party. This success was seen as a big win for Ahn, giving him a strong position for the next presidential election.
Presidential Campaign and Defeat (2017)
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 he briefly seemed to be ahead of Moon Jae-in, he struggled in TV debates. He ended up finishing third in the election.
Returning to Party Leadership (2017–2018)
After the presidential election, Ahn stepped back from politics for a short time in July 2017. He apologized for his campaign's performance and a party scandal. He returned a month later and was elected as the party chairman again.
Bareunmirae Party (2018–2020)
As the leader of the People Party, Ahn strongly supported merging with another party called the Bareun Party. In February 2018, the two parties merged to form the Bareunmirae Party.
Ahn stepped down from a leadership role in the new party, but he took on the job of leading the party's committee for finding new talent. This suggested he might be preparing to run for mayor of Seoul again.
Break from Politics (2018–2020)
After losing the Seoul mayoral race in June 2018, Ahn took a break from politics. He moved to Germany and then to the United States to study.
Second People Party (2020–2022)
On 29 January 2020, Ahn started a new political party, also called the People Party. This was a separate party from the one he founded in 2016. He led this new People Party until it merged with another party in 2022.
In March 2020, Ahn and his wife, Kim Mi-kyung, helped with medical services in Daegu during the COVID-19 pandemic. Ahn was able to treat patients because he had kept his doctor's medical license.
Seoul Mayoral Campaign (2021)
In December 2020, Ahn announced he would run for mayor of Seoul again in the 2021 special election. However, he later withdrew from the race to support another candidate, Oh Se-hoon, who went on to win the election.
Presidential Campaign (2021–2022)
Ahn Cheol-soo announced his candidacy for the 2022 South Korean presidential election on 1 November 2021. He was chosen as the People Party's candidate.
On 3 March 2022, just six days before the election, Ahn dropped out of the presidential race. He then supported Yoon Suk Yeol, the candidate from the People Power Party, who won the election.
On 18 April 2022, Ahn announced that his People Party would merge with the People Power Party. This meant the People Party was dissolved.
People Power Party (2022–Present)
National Assembly (2022–)
After the merger, Ahn Cheol-soo became a member of the People Power Party.
On 8 May 2022, Ahn decided to run for a vacant seat in the National Assembly for the Seongnam Bundang A district. He won this seat on 1 June 2022, with a large majority of the votes.
2023 Leadership Election
In 2023, Ahn ran for the leadership of the People Power Party. Even though he had supported Yoon Suk Yeol in the presidential election, the President's office criticized Ahn during this campaign. He lost the election, coming in second place.
2024 Political Events
Ahn Cheol-soo was notable during a major political event in 2024. He was the only lawmaker from his party to stay in the building when other members left before a vote to remove President Yoon Suk Yeol from office. Ahn had previously called for Yoon to step down and said he would vote for the removal if Yoon did not resign. He stated that it was "beyond imagination" for a president to act in a way that goes against the country's rules.
Political Ideas
Middle Ground Politics
Ahn Cheol-soo's ideas often try to find a middle ground. For example, his foreign policy ideas are somewhat similar to those of South Korean conservatives. He believes in a stronger approach towards North Korea and supports the THAAD system, which is a missile defense system. He initially opposed THAAD but later changed his mind, saying it would be wrong for a future president to go back on an agreement already made.
He has visited the graves of past presidents who are admired by both conservative and liberal groups. He said it would be "hypocritical to paint half the people as enemies and at the same time call for 'unity'". Because of his background in business, some people see him as more appealing to conservative voters.
LGBT Rights
Ahn has stated that he does not support the immediate legalization of same-sex marriage. However, he also said that the topic needs to be discussed more by society. When asked if he would attend a Queer Parade, he replied that the "right to refuse should also be respected."
Helping Others
In December 2011, Ahn announced that he would donate half of his shares in AhnLab to help educate children from low-income families. At that time, the value of the shares he planned to donate was about 250 billion won (which was about $218 million).
Personal Life
In 1988, Ahn Cheol-soo married Kim Mi-kyung, who is now a professor at the Seoul National University College of Medicine. They have one daughter together.
See Also
In Spanish: Ahn Cheol-soo para niños
- Moderate conservatism
