March 28, 2024
Opinion

The Political Implications of Ahn’s Withdrawal

Following Korean politics can be as exciting as watching a Hollywood movie. In the last 30-40 years we have seen that many things can happen when it comes to the political situation in South Korea. Dictators, assassins, coup d'etats, massacres, sex scandals, corruptions and even suicides have all occurred. To add to the mix, this year a well known professor and software mogul by the name of Ahn Cheol-soo entered the race to become President.

Wildly popular with younger generations, ruling Saenuri party officials had for some time regarded Ahn as a threat in the forthcoming December elections. But despite his youthful popularity, last Friday Ahn gave up his bid to become the new South Korean president leaving fellow progressive candidate Moon Jae-in to run head-to-head with conservative nominee Park Geun-hye.

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