SEATTLE (Yonhap News) ― Ahn Cheol-soo, a South Korean entrepreneur who is a potential presidential candidate, said Wednesday that he will soon launch a charity organization to keep good on his pledge to donate hundreds of million dollars.
“It seems like (the plan) is being outlined. The timing (of a related announcement) will be as early as at the end of this month or next month,” he told reporters after meeting Bill Gates, the head of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in Seattle.
The 49-year-old, formerly a medical doctor, founded AhnLab, South Korea’s biggest anti-virus software firm in 1995. He is now on a closely watched trip to the U.S., which also has taken him to San Francisco.
South Korean media are paying keen attention to whether or when he will declare a presidential bid. Ahn is a newfound darling of the country’s younger generation and middle-aged group fed up with the politics of the establishment.
He spurned speculation over his ambition late last year by announcing that he would donate half of his stocks at AhnLab to help children get an education.
Ahn is known to own 37.1 percent of AhnLab’s shares, currently worth 302.4 billion won ($269 million).
He said he would take Gates’ advice into consideration for his own charity plan.
In the face of a barrage of questions from reporters, Ahn was guarded about his possible political ambitions and only talking about his donation plan.
