Shares in the anti-virus software firm AhnLab Inc. plunged 15 percent Monday after its founder, Ahn Cheol-Soo, withdrew from South Korea’s presidential race in which he had run as an independent.
AhnLab closed at 35,250 won ($32.49), down 15 percent, on the country’s secondary bourse, KOSDAQ.
The sell off saw the company drop out of the KOSDAQ’s top-10 ranking in terms of market capitalisation and fall to a lowly 49th position.
Ahn, an enormously popular figure among young liberal voters, announced on Friday that he was ending his presidential campaign and throwing his support behind Moon Jae-In from the liberal opposition Democratic United Party.
The withdrawal of Ahn, who had painted himself as an outsider untainted by party politics, was a disappointment to many seeking an alternative to the entrenched left-right divide represented by the established political parties.
Ahn founded AhnLab in 1995 and the company thrived after the CIH virus in 1999 caused widespread damage in countries including South Korea, fanning demand for anti-virus software.
He resigned as CEO in 2005 to study business at the University of Pennsylvania, but still serves as AhnLab board chairman.
Shares of EG Co., an iron oxide manufacturer headed by the younger brother of front-running presidential candidate Park Geun-Hye, went the other way Monday, soaring 15 percent to close at 14.98 percent.
With Ahn’s withdrawal, Park, the daughter of the late military strongman Park Chung-Hee, now faces a straight fight with Moon for the presidential Blue House.
AhnLab shares plunge after founder quits race
