With his unsullied image, presidential candidate Ahn Cheol-soo has raised the public’s hopes for a new kind of politics.

But this also means that the rookie politician faces a greater fall should his actions turn out to be inconsistent with his words.

The most serious allegation against Ahn is that he made illegitimate profits through fraudulent transactions of shares of AhnLab, the computer virus developer that won him the reputation as the country’s leading software guru.

In 1999, Ahn purchased the firm’s bonds with warrant at 1,170 won ($1.50) per share. The following year, he sold them to a major shareholder in an off-board transaction for some 20,000 won each, making a profit of 31.1 billion won. Off-board transactions are those that take place outside of a national stock exchange.

Former lawmakers Kang Yong-seok from the ruling Saenuri Party and Hwang Jang-soo from the main opposition Democratic United Party accused Ahn of price manipulation.

“The stock price was based on accounting reports,” Ahn said through his spokesperson, denying the charges.

“The company’s stock value actually rose in the given period and the real price may not be defined by a single off-board transaction.”

The Saenuri camp nevertheless pledged to raise the issue in the upcoming sessions of the parliamentary state affairs committee.

The IT entrepreneur was also the subject of financial irregularity rumors concerning the operation of his firm, though some of them turned out to be false.

One of them is an accusation by Jeong June-guil, a former communications official of the right-wing party, that Ahn bribed an official of the Korea Development Bank to win the state-run bank’s investment.

Experts said that the rumors could hurt Ahn, regardless of their validity.

“Ahn’s popularity is directly related to his upright and unselfish image,” said Myongji University professor Shin Yul.

“These monetary allegations, no matter how trivial, may have a negative effect on his reputation.”

The candidate also faces the task of maintaining his integrity, as some of his previous statements later turned out to be incorrect.

Through his book and a television talk show in July, Ahn claimed that he received no financial aid from his parents upon getting married.

He was, however, later reported to have purchased an apartment in southern Seoul with the help of his mother, leading to questions about whether he paid the due taxes.

Some observers criticized Ahn for taking some 700 million won while working as non-executive director for POSCO in 2011, claiming it to be at odds with his anti-conglomerate policies.

Ahn was also a member of V-society, an exclusive social group of venture businessmen and junior conglomerates, in which he developed close friendships with many figures in the upper economic bracket.

It is not just financial rumors that have plagued his presidential bid.

Last month, the public was stirred by rumors that Ahn frequented “room salons,” bars with escorts, seemingly contradicting his previous pledge to have quit drinking.

“I have not drunk alcohol for the past 15 years, though I sometimes did accompany my guests during business meetings,” Ahn said.

Despite Ahn’s defense, however, this led to suspicions that his other remarks may not have been truthful.

The conservative camp also suggested collusion between the former professor and Seoul National University.

Ahn’s wife Kim Mi-kyung was hired as one of the state university’s medical professors through a special recruitment session last year, joining her husband who had taken the post of dean of the Graduate School of Convergence Science and Technology.

She, however, was in her third year as associate professor at Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, which fell short of the five-year career requirement of SNU.

There was also dispute within SNU’s internal board about whether Kim was qualified for her post, as her academic research performance did not meet the minimum standard.

Her appointment gave rise to speculation that the school benefitted Kim to win Ahn’s favor.

“The presidential election has turned into a tight three-way race,” said Yoon Hee-woong, chief researcher of Korea Society Opinion Institute.

“In order to win an upper hand, the candidates and parties are likely to rely on mudslinging campaigns, which will inflict visible damage on Ahn.”

By Bae Hyun-jung (tellme@heraldcorp.com)