As the impeachment crisis followed the state of emergency, the stock prices of corporations associated with influential politicians surged regardless of their fundamentals. It was found that the largest shareholders and relatives realized hundreds of millions of won in profits by selling their stakes without missing the opportunity.
According to the Financial Supervisory Service’s electronic disclosure system on the 18th, the real estate company Eastar will, linked to Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the Democratic Party, recorded daily upper limits for four times in seven business days. The Eastar stock price, which was 632 won based on the closing price on the 2nd, finished at 2,375 won on the 11th, and the Korea Exchange suspended trading on the 12th.
Kim Seung-je, the largest shareholder of Eastar, realized a profit of about 3 billion won by disposing of shares before the trading suspension. On the 9th and 10th, when Eastar was designated as a stock subject to investment warnings, Kim sold 170,000 shares in the market. As a result, Kim's equity dropped from 33% in 2015 to 20%. The last time Kim sold shares was in August 2022.
Similarly, the relatives of the largest shareholder did not miss the opportunity and sold off their surging stocks. The stock price of Prime M, a heavy equipment manufacturer linked to Lee due to their alumni relationship, began rising from 11,650 won on the 2nd, reaching 19,360 won on the 10th.
The special relationship individuals of the largest shareholder, Jeong Bok-hee and Shin Myung-sook, sold their holdings on the 10th and 11th. They reportedly realized about 1 billion won in profits each. Jeong Bok-hee is a relative of CEO Joo Do-sik, while Shin Myung-sook is a relative of Park Heung-sik.
A similar incident occurred with PN Pungnyeon, linked to the theme stock as Choi Sang-hoon, who is an auditor, was known to be an alumnus of Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Dong-yeon. The stock price of PN Pungnyeon, which was 6,500 won on the 2nd, rose to 11,150 won by the 12th. Yoo Ui-hwa, a special relationship person of the largest shareholder, made a profit of about 400 million won through market sales just before the stock price dropped on the 10th and 12th.