Disappointed in 'Doridori Yoon'?…Dizzying Yoon Seok-yeol Stocks

by Gi Yeonjin

Published 30 Jun.2021 13:13(KST)

Updated 30 Jun.2021 15:51(KST)

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Ji Yeon-jin] Since former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol officially declared his candidacy for the 20th presidential election next year, related stocks have experienced extreme fluctuations. These stocks, which had been on the rise until just before the announcement, have been declining since he declared his presidential bid.

On the 30th, NE Neungyul started trading at 23,200 KRW, down 1.28% from the previous day, and the decline widened. The stock had also closed at 23,500 KRW, down 11.99%, the day before. NE Neungyul has been categorized as a theme stock since early this year because its largest shareholder, Yoon Ho-jung, chairman of Yakult, belongs to the same Pyeongyang Yoon clan as former Prosecutor General Yoon. On the 25th, when news broke that Yoon would officially announce his presidential challenge at a press conference, the stock surged as much as 25.67% during the session and closed higher on the 28th as well. Although it started higher the previous day and showed a strong gain of over 3% during the session, it plunged in the afternoon. Woongjin, led by Yoon Seok-geum, chairman of Woongjin Group and also a member of the Pyeongyang Yoon clan, opened higher the previous day but closed down 5.76%, and on this day also showed a drop of up to 6% during trading.

Deokseong and Seoyeon were down more than 4% as of 1:11 a.m. that day. Both stocks had closed down 9.67% and 7.46%, respectively, the day before. These companies are known to have outside directors who graduated from Seoul National University Law School, the alma mater of former Prosecutor General Yoon, and along with NE Neungyul, are classified as representative ‘Yoon Seok-yeol theme stocks.’

The sharp drop in Yoon Seok-yeol theme stocks on the day of his candidacy announcement is compared to the past case of Ahn Cheol-soo theme stocks. In the case of AhnLab, founded by Ahn Cheol-soo, leader of the People’s Party, the stock rose 16.93% on December 21 last year, right after Ahn announced his candidacy for Seoul mayor. However, AhnLab’s closing price fell 15.37% on March 23, when Oh Se-hoon was confirmed as the unified opposition candidate for Seoul mayor.

Some analysts suggest that investors who lowered their expectations of former Prosecutor General Yoon’s chances of winning, amid controversies such as his repeated head-shaking gestures at the announcement event?earning him the nickname ‘Dori Dori Yoon’?may have sold off their shares in large volumes during his political debut.