Software expert joins South Korea president race

SEOUL, South Korea— A popular software company founder has formally announced his presidential bid in South Korea.

Ahn Cheol-soo’s decision ends months of speculation on whether he would run in December elections and adds a new complexity to the race.

The founder of Seoul-based antivirus maker AhnLab told reporters Wednesday that he’s running because of public calls to reform politics.

Ahn has long been neck-and-neck in a hypothetical two-way matchup against conservative ruling party candidate Park Geun-hye in opinion surveys. But he has been vague until now about his ambitions.

Park is the daughter of late dictator Park Chung-hee.

Liberal opposition candidate Moon Jae-in is running third in polls behind Park and Ahn. Moon has said he’ll seek to win Ahn’s support so they can muster liberal votes against Park.

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Tags: Ahn Cheol-soo , AhnLab , Park Chung-hee , South Korea