Ahn Cheol-soo declares run for parliamentary by-election

Ahn Cheol-soo, the chief of President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol’s transition team, on Friday declared a run for a parliamentary by-election, saying he will devote himself to his party’s election victories in the capital area.

“There are sincere requests from inside and outside the party that want me to run for a seat in Bundang-A district,” Ahn told reporters. “I will throw myself in for election victories in the greater Seoul area, including Gyeonggi Province.”

Ahn was President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol’s candidacy merger partner. After the presidential election, Ahn’s People’s Party merged with Yoon’s People Power Party (PPP).

Ahn has been widely considered as a candidate for the parliamentary seat representing Bundang-A constituency in Seongnam, south of Seoul, that was previously held by Yoon’s former spokesperson, Kim Eun-hye, who is now running for Gyeonggi Governor in the June 1 local elections.

Asked about his connection with Bundang-A constituency, Ahn, who founded antivirus software firm AhnLab, said his company was among the first ones to build an office building in the region.

Ahn could go through a primary to earn the PPP’s nomination as Park Min-sik, a special assistant to Yoon, also declared a run for the legislative seat in Bundang-A constituency.

If Ahn wins the PPP’s nomination, he will face Kim Byoung-kwan, a former lawmaker who has been selected as the Democratic Party (DP)’s candidate for the by-election in Seongnam.

Ahn is seeking his first parliamentary membership since 2017.

Parliamentary by-elections are scheduled to take place in seven constituencies concurrently with the local elections on June 1.