The November 23rd decision by Ahn Cheol-soo, a businessman, to pull out of the race to be South Korea's next president has stunned his supporters. But it may have left the popular software entrepreneur more powerful than ever. Mr Ahn was seen as a strong third candidate against a fellow liberal, Moon Jae-in, of the opposition Democratic United Party (DUP) and Park Geun-hye of the conservative Saenuri Party. But after long negotiations, Mr Ahn gave way amid concerns that he could split the centre-left vote and hand victory to Miss Park.
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