# Ahn Gwi-ryeong

Ahn Gwi-ryeong (Korean: 안귀령; born June 1, 1989) is a South Korean politician and former newscaster. A former news anchor for the Korean broadcasting company YTN, she transitioned into politics and ran in the 2024 South Korean legislative election as the candidate for the Korean Democratic Party in the Dobong A constituency but was defeated.
She is currently serving as the Deputy Spokesperson of the Democratic Party. During the 2024 declaration of martial law in South Korea, Ahn Gwi-ryeong was photographed attempting to seize a firearm from a martial law soldier during an effort to blockade the National Assembly. She subsequently participated in the impeachment movement.

## Career

Ahn Gwi-ryeong began her career as an announcer at Gwangju Broadcasting in 2014 before joining YTN as an announcer in April 2016. In January 2022, she resigned from YTN and transitioned into politics, joining the election campaign committee of Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea, where she served as a spokesperson.
In the 2024 South Korean legislative election, Ahn received a strategic nomination to run in the Seoul Dobong District 1 constituency. However, she was defeated, securing 47.89% of the vote and finishing in second place.
On January 18, 2024, the broadcasting journalists' unions for JTBC and the National Union of Media Workers released a public statement criticizing Ahn and Lee Jeong-heon for leaving journalism to join the Democratic Party. The statement argued that such actions constituted a breach of professional ethics.
Ahead of the 2024 South Korean legislative election, incumbent In Jae-keun announced that she would not be running for re-election in the Dobong A constituency.
On February 23, 2024, the Democratic Party nominated former YTN anchor Ahn Gwi-ryeong as its candidate for Dobong A.
Despite the constituency's historical preference for Democratic Party candidates and its predecessor parties, Ahn narrowly lost to Kim Jae-sub of the conservative People Power Party.
Kim's victory was notable, as he was one of only three People Power Party candidates to win in Seoul constituencies north of the Han River.
In November 2024, Ahn Gwi-ryeong was fined 700,000 Korean won for violating the Public Official Election Act.
During the declaration of martial law in 2024, Ahn Gwi-ryeong arrived at the National Assembly building around 23:00. She was later seen trying to seize a rifle from a soldier before the latter pointed it at her briefly, prompting her to berate the soldier, saying "Aren't you ashamed?" as he walked away. She later told BBC Korean Service that "I didn't think… I just knew we had to stop this." The video was captured by a live stream by online newscaster OhmyNews. Shortly afterward, the clip received 1.2 million views on YouTube. The video then went viral online. She told Reuters: "I think that the people have already psychologically impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol," Ahn said. "Who could trust a president declaring martial law almost like a child playing games or entrust the nation to such leadership?" A still from the video the incident was selected by the BBC as one of the most striking images of 2024. The BBC compared one still of the video to a painting of Joan of Arc by artist John Gilbert.