Ahn Cheol-soo bows out of prime minister candidacy

Politics

Published: 30 Mar. 2022, 18:25

Ahn Cheol-soo bows out of prime minister candidacy

Ahn Cheol-soo, chairman of the presidential transition team, says he does not plan to serve as prime minister under the incoming Yoon Suk-yeol administration in a press conference at the transition office in Tongui-dong, central Seoul, Wednesday. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

Ahn Cheol-soo, chairman of the presidential transition team, said Wednesday he will not serve as prime minister, nor any other immediate Cabinet position, in the incoming Yoon Suk-yeol administration.

This decision is expected to speed along President-elect Yoon's selection process for his first prime minister.

Ahn said in a press briefing that his decision to not directly participate in the incoming government's Cabinet would "ease the burden on the president-elect and be more helpful in setting the overall direction of state affairs that he envisions."

Ahn said he conveyed his intent to Yoon Tuesday and recommended him to "find a good person," giving him the room to appoint a prime minister that best fits his visions. The president-elect in turn expressed his understanding.

However, Ahn said that he plans to "diligently recommend qualified, clean and capable people" as minister candidates.

Yoon and Ahn, a presidential candidate of the minor People's Party, formed an alliance six days ahead of the March 9 presidential election. Under the merger deal, Ahn supported Yoon, who promised to form a joint government if he were elected. They also agreed to merge Yoon's People Power Party (PPP) and Ahn's People's Party.

Ahn had been named as a potential prime minister candidate ever since the alliance was formed, thus publicly declining the role opens up the position to other contenders that include a former prime minister and politicians with liberal roots.

Serving his role as the chief of Yoon's presidential transition committee and laying out the blueprint for his administration is in keeping with such a pledge to form a joint government, according to Ahn in the press briefing Wednesday in the transition committee's office in Tongui-dong, central Seoul.

Ahn said that he will take time to "recharge" after the transition process ends with Yoon's inauguration on May 10, and also made clear he does not plan to run in the June 1 local elections. This put to rest speculation that he might run for Gyeonggi governor, a post left vacant after the Democratic Party's Lee Jae-myung ran for president.

There is interest if Ahn will aim for party leadership following his breather after consecutively running in the Seoul mayoral by-election in 2021 and the recent presidential election. The People's Party and the PPP are in the process of a merger.

The party leader usually serves a two-year term, thus PPP Chairman Lee Jun-seok, elected as his party's youngest leader last June, still has around a year left. Lee and Ahn clashed previously in the PPP and People's Party merger process, but Ahn is not expected to immediately challenge Lee.

On the possibility of becoming party chief, Ahn told reporters, "I'm not thinking about it right now because PPP Chairman Lee Jun-seok will be in office until next year."

Lee and Ahn clashed in the process of merger talks between the PPP and People's Party.

When asked if he will vie for the position after Lee's tenure comes to an end, Ahn replied vaguely, "Even if you set long-term plans, in politics, things don't always go as planned."

On his future activities, Ahn said, "I think there are many things that I can contribute to broaden the party's support base and stabilize the administration. That's what I'll work on."

Notably, eight of the 24 members of Yoon's transition committee were recommended by Ahn, and he is expected to continue to exert a role in the forming of the new administration and cement his political standing ahead of the next presidential election.

In turn, Yoon has been reviewing candidates for prime minister and could announce his pick as early as next week. Yoon's team is vetting not just prime ministers but other ministerial posts such as deputy prime minister who simultaneously doubles as economy and finance minister.

Prime minister contenders include former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, former Democratic Party leader Kim Han-gil, former Financial Services Commission Chairman Lim Jong-ryong, former Knowledge Economy Minister Choi Joong-kyung, PPP Floor Leader Kim Gi-hyeon and former National Assembly Deputy Speaker Park Joo-sun.

Han, an economics expert who was prime minister under liberal President Roh Moo-hyun's administration, has been named as a strong candidate. The Jeolla native also served as ambassador to the United States under the conservative Lee Myung-bak government, finance minister and chairman of the Korea International Trade Association.

Kim Han-gil, a close aide to Yoon, currently leads the transition team's committee on national unity and served as culture minister in the liberal Kim Dae-jung administration. Kim Byong-joon, a senior policy secretary and deputy prime minister for education under the Roh Moo-hyun administration close to Yoon, and Kwon Young-se, vice chairman of Yoon's transition committee, have also been mentioned as candidates.

BY SARAH KIM [kim.sarah@joongang.co.kr]