From shy student to software mogul, Ahn looks to continue his
success story
The formidable popularity of Ahn Cheol-soo as he makes his political debut in the presidential race is seen to represent the voters’ desire for change and originality.
The conservative opponents’ attempt to classify Ahn’s entry as impudent is doing little to dampen the former professor’s smooth political ride so far.
The soft-spoken software genius underscores he was never one to quit throughout his career changes, from a medical doctor to an anti-virus programmer to a venture company CEO and most recently a professor.
Living up to his credo “To live a life that leaves a trace,” Ahn has long been a household name in South Korea with his success story, releasing 11 different books. As an advocate for philanthropy, Ahn has maintained a wide network of avid fans-turned-supporters since he began cross-country “talk concerts” in 2009.
Known for his discretion, sensibility and determination, Ahn’s path to becoming a presidential candidate was like no other. It took over a year of consistent recommendations by his supporters and incessant speculations by the media for the former software mogul to announce his presidential bid on Sept. 19.
Lacking organizational support like that of the ruling and opposition parties and political or administrative experience, Ahn faces daunting challenges ahead, such as to present plausible and comprehensive policy pledges to remove lingering doubts among moderate voters.
As he moves to turn the ideas of his latest book “Thoughts of Ahn Cheol-soo” into policy, Ahn is gaining wider attention through his creative communication skills. Rather than a cookie-cutter political website filled with slogans, Ahn’s camp operates a Facebook page that follows Ahn’s campaign with essay-type recaps.
Speaking the language of the young electorate, Ahn pledges to overhaul politics and resolve social issues through fostering an innovation-based growth engine, economic democratization and improved welfare.
Shy child becomes challenger
Ahn was born in Milyang, South Gyeongsang Province, in 1962. His father was a medical officer who later moved his family to Busan and opened a clinic, enabling the family to live a comfortable lifestyle.
Ahn says in his autobiography “Happy Virus Ahn Cheol-soo” published in 2009 that his dream as a child was to become a scientist. He was good at taking care of his animals like chicks and rabbits as well as plants, and loved to disassemble any machinery that he laid his eyes on.
As an introverted kid, books were his best friend, and he recalls that he read all the books in his elementary school library.
“After I started going to school, I came to dislike hanging out with other children more and more. During gym hour, I would stay out and sit in the shadow under a tree and read,” Ahn wrote in his book.
Ahn’s mother often used honorifics in speaking to Ahn, who was the first of three children. It was due to this refined atmosphere at home that Ahn found it hard to speak casually to his employees at his anti-virus research company AhnLab later on.
Although Ahn had wished to become a scientist, he decided to go to the College of Medicine at Seoul National University, like his father, to please him, Ahn wrote in his memoir. He had hated blood and keeping up with the studies was not easy. One day, feeling pressured and anxious, Ahn broke down and called his mother in tears, telling her, “The studies are too hard.” His mother, alarmed, immediately flew to Seoul from Busan, took Ahn back home, where his father suggested he receive some counseling. After a few days of rest, Ahn regrouped, returned to school, and began spending more time with his classmates.
In his third year in college, Ahn met his future wife Kim Mi-kyung, who is currently a Seoul National University professor. The two married in 1988 and have a daughter and a son.
The two spent a lot of time participating in free medical service trips for less-privileged people. It was during this time, as his other classmates joined the spreading democratic movements, that Ahn came to learn of the poverty-stricken side of the country.
Fate knocked on Ahn’s door in the autumn of 1982, when he encountered for the first time a personal computer, by Apple Inc., bought by his new roommate.
“My heart fluttered at the sight of such a marvelous thing in front of me,” he wrote.
He was mesmerized by the newfound world and bought his first personal computer a year later.
By 1986, Ahn had moved on to IBM computers and found more time to work on them as he was completing his master’s degree and moving onto a doctorate in physiology.
In early 1988, he came upon a virus inside his computer. Startled, he traced the virus, which he said was not hard as he had been learning the machine codes. Confident that he could develop a vaccine program on his own, Ahn called a magazine, which later published an article on Ahn’s vaccine program that he successfully developed in July the same year.
He returned to his original role in medicine, working as a professor at Dankook University between 1989 and 1991, and serving his military term as medical officer between 1991 and 1994. But his commitment to curing viruses never ceased, and he would cut back on his sleep to fulfill both jobs as a professor in the daytime and programmer at night. He received calls from all parts of the country asking for his vaccine program, which he doled out for free.
After he left the military, Ahn made the difficult decision to leave the medical field as having two roles became impossible.
“As time went by, the number of people making higher-end computer viruses surged. It reached a point where it was no longer possible for me to fight the computer viruses alone,” Ahn wrote.
Ahn launched the research firm Ahn Cheol-soo Research Center, later renamed AhnLab, in 1995 that would provide the vaccine programs to ordinary users for free but charging companies and public organizations for them.
When the notorious CIH virus broke out in April 26, 1999, Ahn’s company played a key role. The company has been on a roll since then. AhnLab was listed on KOSDAQ in September 2001 and its net profit surpassed 10 billion won ($8.9 million) ― a first for a South Korean software company.
From CEO to presidential candidate
After 10 years of running his company, Ahn began to ponder his next step. He decided that he wanted to contribute more to the industry as a whole by instilling an entrepreneurial spirit and bettering the businesses’ chances of success.
In 2005, Ahn resigned as CEO and went to study in the United States. He remained chairman of the board of directors until he announced his presidential bid this month.
Ahn returned with an MBA from Wharton School in May 2008 and became a chair-professor of the Graduate School of Innovation and Technology Management at the Korea Advanced Institute for Science and Technology. He also served as the outside director of POSCO and later chaired the board from 2005 to 2011, and was a member of President Lee Myung-bak’s future planning committee in 2010.
In 2009, Ahn began on another journey, by hosting an “encouraging the youth” speech tour around colleges in different parts of the country with Andong Shinsegae Clinic director Park Kyung-chul.
The regional tour in 2009 led to heightened popularity, followed by his appearance on “Mureuppak Dosa,” a popular talk show, the same year. The episode was a hit.
His tour expanded to a “talk concert,” joined by Monk Beopryun and a handful of other civic activists and experts. The political breeze started to blow his way.
In August 2011, Ahn expressed his intention to run for Seoul mayor. His family including his father and daughter reportedly opposed his decision.
Ahn was joined in the race by lawyer and civic activist Park Won-soon, whom Ahn was acquainted with.
After several exchanges of their views, the two struck a deal and Ahn withdrew his bid to support Park. The win of Park against candidates of the two major parties signaled a new wind in politics and propped Ahn up on the political pedestal.
Now as an independent presidential candidate, Ahn is putting his latest challenge to test, to prove the sustainability of his arresting drive for new politics.
“I don’t tend to make long-term plans. As long as I do my best every second, the next task for me seems to come my way,” Ahn said in an interview with television program “Healing Camp” in July.
By Lee Joo-hee (jhl@heraldcorp.com)
The formidable popularity of Ahn Cheol-soo as he makes his political debut in the presidential race is seen to represent the voters’ desire for change and originality.
The conservative opponents’ attempt to classify Ahn’s entry as impudent is doing little to dampen the former professor’s smooth political ride so far.
The soft-spoken software genius underscores he was never one to quit throughout his career changes, from a medical doctor to an anti-virus programmer to a venture company CEO and most recently a professor.
Living up to his credo “To live a life that leaves a trace,” Ahn has long been a household name in South Korea with his success story, releasing 11 different books. As an advocate for philanthropy, Ahn has maintained a wide network of avid fans-turned-supporters since he began cross-country “talk concerts” in 2009.
 |
| Independent presidential candidate Ahn Cheol-soo looks at a bust of late former President Roh Moo-hyun in Bongha, South Gyeongsang Province, on Wednesday. (Yonhap News) |
Known for his discretion, sensibility and determination, Ahn’s path to becoming a presidential candidate was like no other. It took over a year of consistent recommendations by his supporters and incessant speculations by the media for the former software mogul to announce his presidential bid on Sept. 19.
Lacking organizational support like that of the ruling and opposition parties and political or administrative experience, Ahn faces daunting challenges ahead, such as to present plausible and comprehensive policy pledges to remove lingering doubts among moderate voters.
As he moves to turn the ideas of his latest book “Thoughts of Ahn Cheol-soo” into policy, Ahn is gaining wider attention through his creative communication skills. Rather than a cookie-cutter political website filled with slogans, Ahn’s camp operates a Facebook page that follows Ahn’s campaign with essay-type recaps.
Speaking the language of the young electorate, Ahn pledges to overhaul politics and resolve social issues through fostering an innovation-based growth engine, economic democratization and improved welfare.
Shy child becomes challenger
Ahn was born in Milyang, South Gyeongsang Province, in 1962. His father was a medical officer who later moved his family to Busan and opened a clinic, enabling the family to live a comfortable lifestyle.
Ahn says in his autobiography “Happy Virus Ahn Cheol-soo” published in 2009 that his dream as a child was to become a scientist. He was good at taking care of his animals like chicks and rabbits as well as plants, and loved to disassemble any machinery that he laid his eyes on.
As an introverted kid, books were his best friend, and he recalls that he read all the books in his elementary school library.
“After I started going to school, I came to dislike hanging out with other children more and more. During gym hour, I would stay out and sit in the shadow under a tree and read,” Ahn wrote in his book.
Ahn’s mother often used honorifics in speaking to Ahn, who was the first of three children. It was due to this refined atmosphere at home that Ahn found it hard to speak casually to his employees at his anti-virus research company AhnLab later on.
Although Ahn had wished to become a scientist, he decided to go to the College of Medicine at Seoul National University, like his father, to please him, Ahn wrote in his memoir. He had hated blood and keeping up with the studies was not easy. One day, feeling pressured and anxious, Ahn broke down and called his mother in tears, telling her, “The studies are too hard.” His mother, alarmed, immediately flew to Seoul from Busan, took Ahn back home, where his father suggested he receive some counseling. After a few days of rest, Ahn regrouped, returned to school, and began spending more time with his classmates.
In his third year in college, Ahn met his future wife Kim Mi-kyung, who is currently a Seoul National University professor. The two married in 1988 and have a daughter and a son.
The two spent a lot of time participating in free medical service trips for less-privileged people. It was during this time, as his other classmates joined the spreading democratic movements, that Ahn came to learn of the poverty-stricken side of the country.
Fate knocked on Ahn’s door in the autumn of 1982, when he encountered for the first time a personal computer, by Apple Inc., bought by his new roommate.
“My heart fluttered at the sight of such a marvelous thing in front of me,” he wrote.
He was mesmerized by the newfound world and bought his first personal computer a year later.
By 1986, Ahn had moved on to IBM computers and found more time to work on them as he was completing his master’s degree and moving onto a doctorate in physiology.
In early 1988, he came upon a virus inside his computer. Startled, he traced the virus, which he said was not hard as he had been learning the machine codes. Confident that he could develop a vaccine program on his own, Ahn called a magazine, which later published an article on Ahn’s vaccine program that he successfully developed in July the same year.
He returned to his original role in medicine, working as a professor at Dankook University between 1989 and 1991, and serving his military term as medical officer between 1991 and 1994. But his commitment to curing viruses never ceased, and he would cut back on his sleep to fulfill both jobs as a professor in the daytime and programmer at night. He received calls from all parts of the country asking for his vaccine program, which he doled out for free.
After he left the military, Ahn made the difficult decision to leave the medical field as having two roles became impossible.
“As time went by, the number of people making higher-end computer viruses surged. It reached a point where it was no longer possible for me to fight the computer viruses alone,” Ahn wrote.
Ahn launched the research firm Ahn Cheol-soo Research Center, later renamed AhnLab, in 1995 that would provide the vaccine programs to ordinary users for free but charging companies and public organizations for them.
When the notorious CIH virus broke out in April 26, 1999, Ahn’s company played a key role. The company has been on a roll since then. AhnLab was listed on KOSDAQ in September 2001 and its net profit surpassed 10 billion won ($8.9 million) ― a first for a South Korean software company.
From CEO to presidential candidate
After 10 years of running his company, Ahn began to ponder his next step. He decided that he wanted to contribute more to the industry as a whole by instilling an entrepreneurial spirit and bettering the businesses’ chances of success.
In 2005, Ahn resigned as CEO and went to study in the United States. He remained chairman of the board of directors until he announced his presidential bid this month.
Ahn returned with an MBA from Wharton School in May 2008 and became a chair-professor of the Graduate School of Innovation and Technology Management at the Korea Advanced Institute for Science and Technology. He also served as the outside director of POSCO and later chaired the board from 2005 to 2011, and was a member of President Lee Myung-bak’s future planning committee in 2010.
In 2009, Ahn began on another journey, by hosting an “encouraging the youth” speech tour around colleges in different parts of the country with Andong Shinsegae Clinic director Park Kyung-chul.
The regional tour in 2009 led to heightened popularity, followed by his appearance on “Mureuppak Dosa,” a popular talk show, the same year. The episode was a hit.
His tour expanded to a “talk concert,” joined by Monk Beopryun and a handful of other civic activists and experts. The political breeze started to blow his way.
In August 2011, Ahn expressed his intention to run for Seoul mayor. His family including his father and daughter reportedly opposed his decision.
Ahn was joined in the race by lawyer and civic activist Park Won-soon, whom Ahn was acquainted with.
After several exchanges of their views, the two struck a deal and Ahn withdrew his bid to support Park. The win of Park against candidates of the two major parties signaled a new wind in politics and propped Ahn up on the political pedestal.
Now as an independent presidential candidate, Ahn is putting his latest challenge to test, to prove the sustainability of his arresting drive for new politics.
“I don’t tend to make long-term plans. As long as I do my best every second, the next task for me seems to come my way,” Ahn said in an interview with television program “Healing Camp” in July.
By Lee Joo-hee (jhl@heraldcorp.com)
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