The Financial Supervisory Service and Korea Exchange have embarked on a joint investigation into alleged manipulation of stocks connected to politicians and well - known figures . A group of retail investors has been chasing so - called “ celebrity stocks ” related to politicians and famous figures without taking the shares ’ true value into consideration . The celebrity stocks include those tied to Rep . Park Geun - hye , former chairwoman of the governing Grand National Party , and Moon Jae - in , a rising presidential candidate among opposition parties . Stocks of Ahnlab Inc . , a software firm founded by Ahn Cheol - soo , zigzagged over whether Ahn would run or not for Seoul mayor . The stock price of the company fell by the daily limit to 40 , 750 won ( $ 38 ) on the Korea Exchange Wednesday morning , a day after Ahn pledged not to run and instead threw his support behind leading liberal activist Park Won - soon . Last week , Ahn , who had been widely favored for the post , had seen the company ’ s stock gain more than 35 percent as investors clamored for shares on speculation that the firm would benefit if he ran . Ahn held a 37 . 1 percent stake in the company at the end of June . Shares of Pulmuone Holdings Co . , where Park Won - soon serves as an outside director , jumped more than 11 percent after Ahn ’ s announcement . A Korea Exchange official said the main bourse and the FSS are looking into sudden rises in shares to prevent cases of stock price manipulation . “ Ahn Cheol - soo - related shares have risen sharply in recent sessions . We are monitoring such shares on a daily basis , ” he said . “ If we feel that a certain group of investors is attempting to manipulate stock prices , we will step up our investigation , ” he said . Research analysts said that the celebrity effect could be a vehicle for speculative movements on the stock market . In contrast to retail investors ’ high interest , some market watchers have stayed cool about the sudden surge in those shares . No local brokerages have issued reports on Ahnlab , with the exception of small published notes that speculate the recent surge in the venture firm ’ s shares was likely due to Ahn ’ s possible emergence as a Seoul mayoral candidate . FSS officials say the abnormal movement of such shares in South Korea is much more volatile compared to that of other countries . Although Korea is stepping up education for investors , the issue is difficult to tackle . An FSS offical said that price jumps in celebrity shares tend to last for a short time rather than a few weeks and that investors need a prudent approach in purchasing such shares . By Kim Yon - se ( kys @ heraldm . com )