The head of the Financial Supervisory Service, Lee Bok-hyun, noted that major shareholders of SAMBU Construction had pocketed a capital gain in the range of 10 billion won. SAMBU Construction is a stock that has raised suspicions of stock price manipulation in the National Assembly, primarily led by the Democratic Party. The FSS is currently investigating SAMBU Construction to closely ascertain whether any misconduct occurred.
After the ‘CEO meeting of securities firms’ held at the Korea Financial Investment Association in Yeouido, Seoul, on the 5th, Lee stated in a meeting with reporters, "It is difficult to deny that certain stakeholders of SAMBU Construction realized profits exceeding 10 billion won."
However, there is a position that the connection to stock price manipulation needs further examination. It must be determined whether it is simply a capital gain or an unjust profit through stock price manipulation. Lee said, "It is difficult for unfair trading to be established based on the fact that there is a capital gain alone," adding, "We are broadly verifying funds and examining the connection with unfair trading."
In 2023, SAMBU Construction was classified as a reconstruction stock in Ukraine by participating in the ‘Ukraine Global Reconstruction Forum’ held in Poland. Thanks to this, its stock price, which was around 1,000 won at the time, rose to 5,500 won in July of the same year. In connection with this, during last year's confirmation hearing for Kim Byung-hwan, chairman of the Financial Services Commission, Min Byung-deok, a member of the Democratic Party, raised suspicions, stating, "The trading volume of SAMBU Construction, which typically was around 1 million shares a day, increased 40-fold after the article reported that it participated in the global reconstruction forum."
At the time, Min stated, "In the KakaoTalk chat room called 'Stylish Marines,' where Lee Jong-ho, a key figure in the stock price manipulation of Deutsch Motors, was included, the phrase 'Check SAMBU tomorrow' was mentioned," adding, "It should be investigated who bought and sold intensively during the period when Kim Keon-hee met with the wife of the Ukrainian president (two days later)."
It has been revealed that former SAMBU Construction chairman Cho Sung-ok, his family, major shareholders, and about 10 related accounts profited from stock sales, but it is expected to take more time to confirm the possibility of stock price manipulation. In connection with this, Lee explained regarding the potential for stock price manipulation, "It is difficult to comment further on this ongoing investigation."