President Yoon Suk Yeol will not be able to last longer than another year in office even if the Constitutional Court overturns his impeachment, according to three-time presidential contender Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo of the ruling People Power Party.

Ahn told The Korea Herald that even if the Constitutional Court dismisses Yoon's impeachment and the president returns to office, the political dynamics will have changed drastically in a way that makes his resignation practically inescapable.

"Even if President Yoon does return to office, I think he will put someone else in charge, although he hasn't said so explicitly, and eventually step down before the regional election in June next year," he said.

Appearing at the Constitutional Court for his final hearing last month, Yoon stated that if his impeachment does not go through, he would devote the remainder of his time in office to revising the Constitution to shorten the presidential term, hinting at an early exit.

Four-time lawmaker Ahn avoided any predictions as to the verdict of Yoon's impeachment trial, commenting only that it was up to the Constitutional Court.

The Constitutional Court taking longer than anticipated to deliver a verdict on Yoon is "not a negative thing at all," Ahn said.

"This is a historic decision that has such huge ramifications. The justices should take all the time they need until they are certain they have reached a fair decision based on the Constitution and rule of law."

Ahn said main opposition Democratic Party of Korea lawmakers taking to the streets and calling on the Constitutional Court to make a swift ruling on Yoon's impeachment is "not appropriate," as it could amount to putting political pressure on the judicial system.

Ahn, who founded and led the most successful third party in South Korea — the since-dissolved People's Party — is credited for tipping the close 2022 presidential election for Yoon. As a third-party candidate, Ahn was recording support of 17 percent in polls against 30-something percent ratings held by the People Power Party's Yoon and then-Democratic Party of Korea candidate Lee Jae-myung. Less than a week from Election Day, Ahn dropped out of the race and endorsed Yoon.

"But to this day I believe that President Yoon is a better choice, considering the alternative was a criminal suspect," Ahn said, referring to Lee, who is now the Democratic Party leader.

Ahn said he was aware of his role in Yoon's victory, but like many who had supported the conservative president, he "didn't have the foresight to realize then that he (Yoon) would impose martial law three years later."

Ahn, who has been registered in the last three presidential contests as a third-party candidate, though only seeing it through to the finish line in 2017, said he would try for another presidential run, this time with the major conservative People Power Party. He said he would "do my best to win" the presidential primaries if Yoon is ousted.

Ahn presented himself as the leader "that the times demand."

In the global competition for artificial intelligence, Ahn said he has the experience to be the leader who can take the country to the front of the tech race. Ahn was a computer entrepreneur and developer of the antivirus software program V3 before stepping into politics.

As the chair of the People Power Party's AI committee, Ahn said Chinese AI services like DeepSeek dominating the industry is "alarming" in terms of data protection.

"South Korean data could fall into the hands of the Chinese government," he said. On South Korea's National Intelligence Service issuing a privacy risk warning over DeepSeek use, Ahn said government measures to protect public institutions as well as private users were "imperative."

As a medical doctor as well, Ahn said he was best equipped among the pool of presidential hopefuls to deal with a possible pandemic.

"If an early presidential election is held this year, a new infectious disease crisis could hit during the next president's term, considering that we have suffered an outbreak every five years or so for the last two decades," he said.

Ahn was in Geneva in February for a meeting with public health agencies such as the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization, which want to have South Korea on board for their 100-day plan for a new pandemic vaccine.

"South Korea didn't have its own COVID-19 vaccine (approved and able to be distributed) until nearly the end of the emergency phase, and most people were already vaccinated (by then)," Ahn pointed out. "When a new virus comes along, the first thing we need to do is to come up with a vaccine against it. We want to be able to do that in 100 days."

On US agencies, including the Central Intelligence Agency, recently backing the lab leak theory as the likely source of COVID-19, Ahn said he was "unsure." "I think it's just one of many possibilities that is hard to put too much weight on," he said.

Ahn added that he would also have the "moral high ground" against Lee, the Democratic Party leader and the liberal presidential front-runner. Lee Jae-myung, who was acquitted of charges of violating election laws in a high court earlier this week, remains a defendant in five criminal cases, Ahn pointed out.