It has been revealed that Mr. Seo (65), the spouse of Jeong Eun-kyeong, the Minister candidate for Health and Welfare who invested in the mask company 'Lime' (formerly FTEN), sold all shares of the stock just before it was suspended from trading due to the refusal of the auditor's opinion. Some have raised suspicions that Mr. Seo may have been aware in advance of the potential trading suspension of the stock.
According to the stock transaction records received from the candidate Jeong by Rep. Lee Ju-young of the Reform Party on the 18th, Mr. Seo purchased 20,000 shares of Lime at a price of 4,500 to 5,300 won per share until July 2017.
Lime, a KOSDAQ-listed company that makes masks using nano fibers, recorded annual deficits of hundreds of millions of won, yet its stock price fluctuated sharply due to the fine dust theme. From the end of 2015, news of exclusive supply to Nike and a contract with China acted as a boon for the stock price, which reached 9,100 won in early 2016.
Mr. Seo's investment judgment regarding Lime began to change in September 2017. At that time, the company conducted a capital increase by issuing new shares to existing shareholders to secure funds for facilities and operations, but Mr. Seo did not participate in this.
At that time, the company planned to issue new shares at 2,755 won per share, which was lower than Lime's stock price of 3,000 to 4,000 won at that time. However, Mr. Seo sold rights to purchase new shares granted to existing shareholders at about 5 million won for 1,000 won per share.
Coincidentally, just after Mr. Seo sold all his shares, Lime's stock was suspended from trading. This was due to receiving a 'refusal' opinion from an external auditor in March 2018. Right before the trading suspension, Lime's stock price had dropped to 3,580 won. Subsequently, Lime was delisted in May 2019.
Some are raising suspicions that Mr. Seo avoided investment losses by liquidating all his shares just before the trading suspension, questioning whether he received related information in advance. There have also been suggestions that Mr. Seo is connected to the company's management through academic ties. Among the ten executives working at Lime in 2017, the Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Mr. A (59), unregistered executive Mr. B (63), and Mr. C (71) graduated from Seoul National University. Mr. Seo graduated from Seoul National University College of Medicine.
At that time, Lime received a refusal opinion due to a lack of internal controls over financial transactions and the legitimacy of financial transactions with related parties. The company also filed a complaint with the Seoul Central District Prosecutor's Office against four former executives, including former CEO Park Jong-cheol, on charges of violating the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes (breach of trust) in 2019. Former CEO Park was also the former majority shareholder of INNOGRID, which was the first company to be delisted from the KOSDAQ market.
Rep. Lee Ju-young stated, 'Simple stock transactions cannot constitute a flaw,' but also emphasized that 'given the related suspicions have been raised, it is the Minister's duty to transparently disclose the relevant details and clarify them sufficiently to gain the public's trust.'