'Presidential Election Candidacy Declaration' Ahn Cheol-soo, Finger Message Catches Attention… Former President Yoon's 'King' Character Reexamined

Ahn Cheol-soo, a member of the People Power Party, officially declared his candidacy for the 21st presidential election, drawing attention to the characters written on his finger.

At 11 a.m. on the 8th, Ahn made his candidacy announcement in front of the statue of Admiral Lee Soon-shin at Gwanghwamun Plaza in Seoul.

Ahn stated, "As someone who helped former President Yoon Seok-youl with unification, I offer deep reflection and an apology. However, we no longer have the luxury to view the past with remorse. We need to change the times. We must eradicate the political defects that the people feared."

He continued, "The future of the Republic of Korea should not be entrusted to former prosecutors and lawyers who only look to the past. In this age of artificial intelligence, only those who can look to the future, like scientists and entrepreneurs, can develop the Republic of Korea. I am cleaner than anyone else, the right person to solve the crisis in the artificial intelligence industry and the medical disaster, and the candidate with the greatest centrist appeal."

He added, "Please select a candidate who can win, a candidate who can be elected, a clean candidate, and one who can compete without blemishes. I will work through the night and strive towards the world."

While Ahn held the microphone and continued to speak, the 'six characters' written on his finger caught attention. At the end of what is presumed to be 'Lee Hyo-jin,' there was a Chinese character 大 (great).

The reason this character has become a topic of discussion is due to former President Yoon Seok-youl's 'shamanism controversy.' In 2021, during the presidential candidate debate, Yoon wrote the character 王 (king) three times on his palm.

When the controversy arose, Yoon explained, "An enthusiastic supporter, an elderly woman living in the same neighborhood, wrote it for me. At first, I didn't even realize it was a king character, as she drew a horizontal line and put three dots on my palm. She said it meant to debate vigorously."

He went on to say, "In the past, when children had fevers or were going to take important exams, elders in the household used to write 'king' on their palms to ward off illness or wish them good fortune in their exams."

He emphasized, "If it had any shamanistic meaning, I would have made a talisman or hidden it; why would I write it so openly in the center of my palm? Just the fact that I only wrote it on the day of the debate alone shows how absurd that claim is." He later explained that the king character had not been washed away because he had focused on washing only his fingers.

However, as it was revealed that Jeon Sung-bae, known as a shaman, served as an advisor to Yoon's presidential campaign network headquarters at the time, the shamanism controversy intensified.

Meanwhile, this is Ahn's fourth attempt at the presidency. In 2012, he withdrew midway after attempting unification with the Democratic Party's Moon Jae-in candidate as an independent. In 2017, he ran as the candidate of the People's Party, receiving 21.41% of the votes and finishing third. In the 2022 presidential election, he unified with candidate Yoon Seok-youl at that time.

Image Source: Ahn Cheol-soo, a member of the People Power Party, is holding a press conference for the 21st presidential election candidacy in front of the statue of Admiral Lee Soon-shin at Gwanghwamun in Seoul on the 8th. 2025.4.8/News1, News1, SBS 'I Want to Know That'