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Ahn vows to put priority on improving people’s livelihoods

December 14, 2015
After officially declaring his exit from NPAD, Ahn went to visit a senior citizen center in Nowon District in Seoul. (Newsis)

After officially declaring his exit from NPAD, Ahn went to visit a senior citizen center in Nowon District in Seoul. (Newsis)

SEOUL (Yonhap) — Ahn Cheol-soo, former leader of the main opposition party who announced his defection earlier this week, said Monday that he will do politics centered around improving people’s livelihoods.

Ahn, who co-led the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD) last year, had been calling for the resignation of incumbent Chairman Moon Jae-in to reform the party following NPAD’s crushing defeat in the parliamentary by-elections in April.

“I will do politics centered around people’s livelihoods after going back to having an original intention,” Ahn told reporters Monday.

Ahn’s negotiations with Moon over a leadership change fell through, with the public seeing a deepening power struggle with the incumbent leadership over party nominations ahead of the general elections slated for next April.

“There is no change of plan,” Ahn said when asked whether he will again run in his electoral district of Nowon Ward in northern Seoul.

Ahn, who submitted the letter of defection to the party on Monday, will officially leave later this week when the paperwork is done, according to Ahn’s close confidant.

The former NPAD chairman, however, did not answer a question regarding whether he has specific plans to create a new party along with other lawmakers or run as an independent.

The high-profile defection may result in a stream of similar desertions from the NPAD, with some assuming up to 10 NPAD lawmakers may follow suit within this week.

Ahn, the founder of the nation’s largest anti-virus software firm Ahnlab Co., entered politics in 2012 just before the presidential election, gaining huge fame in the 20-40 age bracket for his clean image.

Ahn, claiming to advocate “new politics,” co-founded the NPAD with former Chairman Kim Han-gil and Moon, after merging the main opposition Democratic Party and his supporters.