Former Incheon Mayor Ahn Sang-soo announces his candidacy for presidency of the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee during a press conference in Seoul, Dec. 17. Yonhap

Former Incheon Mayor Ahn Sang-soo announced Tuesday he will run for the top position at the national Olympic committee, while also calling for the unification of candidates to challenge the incumbent expected to pursue his third term.

"It is unfortunate that the sports community has been taking a beating, and as someone who has stayed engaged in sports while in administration and politics, I decided I wanted to play a role in trying to rectify that situation," Ahn said at a press conference in Seoul, declaring his candidacy for the top job at the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee (KSOC).

Ahn, 78, served as mayor of Incheon, just west of Seoul, from 2002 to 2010, and is a three-term lawmaker. While as mayor, Ahn oversaw the launch of the K League football club Incheon United and hosted the 2014 Asian Games. He served as the vice president of Incheon's Asian Games organizing committee in 2007.

Ahn was president of the Korea Amateur Boxing Federation from 2010 to 2012, and is currently an adviser for the Korean Yoga Association and the East Asia Sports Promotion Association.

Ahn said he will seek to improve the welfare of athletes and sports instructors after their retirements through a mutual aid association, and that he will lean on his expertise in government budgeting mechanisms to increase funding across sports.

The KSOC election is scheduled for Jan. 14, 2025.

Its current president, Lee Kee-heung, has been suspended from his duty by the sports ministry, while being accused of illegal hiring at the main Olympic athlete training center and misappropriation of KSOC funds, among other misconduct.

Lee has still been cleared by the KSOC's own fair play subcommission to go for his third term. He has not yet declared his candidacy but is largely expected to do so in coming days.

Ahn is one of over a half-dozen candidates to have thrown their hat into the ring. Some of them have been pushing for putting out a unified, anti-Lee candidate for a better chance at beating the incumbent president, who is expected to garner significant support despite his pending legal issues.

Ahn was scheduled to meet with three other candidates — former International Olympic Committee member Ryu Seung-min, longtime sports science professor and administrator Kang Shin-wook and ex-Korea Wushu Association President Park Chang-beom — later Tuesday to discuss the possibility of candidate consolidation.

"We are on the same page, as far as recognizing that it's important to have a unified candidate," Ahn said. "We need to support the candidate with the best chance to win and make sure campaign pledges are practical and feasible."

Ahn said it was also crucial for all candidates, including himself, to check their egos at the door.

"We can't afford to be thinking, 'It has to be me or else,'" Ahn added. "We have to work together to narrow our differences and come up with one candidate." (Yonhap)