Software Mogul Challenges S. Korean Politics as Vote Looms

After trailing in polls for months, South Korea’s opposition is being tempted by popular support for a political neophyte as a decision looms on its candidate for president in December elections. The maverick’s attraction as an outsider may also be his biggest vulnerability.

Ahn Cheol Soo, founder of South Korea’s biggest antivirus software maker, for a time overtook ruling-party candidate Park Geun Hye in polls after a single television appearance on July 23. The 50-year-old, who has yet to declare his candidacy, is riding a wave of dissatisfaction over slowing growth, a widening income gap and failure to stoke domestic demand.