Ahn's fan Web site hit by cyber attack

An Internet Web site supporting Ahn Cheol-soo, an entrepreneur-turned-professor known to have political ambitions, has come under a cyber attack, according to its operator Tuesday.

Ahnsamo said some 10,000 accounts of illegal advertising posts were installed between 8 a.m. and midnight Sunday, causing readers to experience difficulty accessing the Web site that has been stalled and slowed down.

Ahnsamo is the online gathering of more than 100,000 members showing support for the 50-year-old Ahn, who is very popular with the younger generation and urban dwellers for his "clean" image.

Illegal advertisements were posted through 10 different IP addresses, the online equivalent of a street addresses or a phone number, Ahnsamo said.

Questions have risen that someone with a grudge against Ahn, who is considering entering this year's presidential race, could possibly be behind the attack.

"It looks like a specific person or an organization launched the attack in a bid to interfere with Ahnsamo's activity," an Ahnsamo member said on condition of anonymity.

However, the origin of the attack has not been determined as Ahnsamo did not request a police investigation.

Meanwhile, a police officer handling cyber crime said, "It is difficult to make any judgment for now who posted such a huge number of junk advertisements for what purpose."

In February, an official Web site of Park Geun-hye, one of the strong presidential hopefuls, was also hit by a cyber attack.

After weeks of investigation, the Cyber Terror Response Center at the National Police Agency concluded that the attack was launched by online sellers of adult products. (Yonhap)