A new book by Ahn Cheol-soo, considered one of the strongest contenders for this year’s presidential election, has become an instant top seller, industry officials said Thursday.
According to Yes24, a leading online bookstore, about 3,200 copies of “Thoughts of Ahn Cheol-soo” were sold as of 5 p.m., just five hours after sales began. On average, 11 copies were sold per minute, it said. At that pace, it is likely to break the daily sales record set by Apple founder Steve Jobs’ biography on Oct. 25, 2011, which was about 7,000 copies, it added.
A woman looks at copies of Ahn Cheol-soo`s new book at Kyobo Bookstore in Gwanghwamun, Seoul, Thursday.Yonhap News
“It is the first time that we have seen such an explosive response from customers since the Steve Jobs biography,” Choi Se-ra, a spokesperson for Yes24 said.
Other online booksellers, including Interpark and Alladin, also said they were getting large orders for Ahn’s book and that he was likely to surpass Jobs’ record.
By Lee Sun-young
(
milaya@heraldcorp.com)