Prosecutors carried out a search and seizure over allegations that a former Meritz Fire & Marine Insurance president and others bought shares with nonpublic information to reap trading profits.
On Jan. 8, according to the financial investment industry, the Financial Investigation Division 1 of the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors Office executed a search and seizure warrant at the Meritz Securities headquarters in Yeouido, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul. The office of Meritz Fire & Marine Insurance Vice Chairman Kim Yong-beom was also searched, according to reports.
The former president and executives of Meritz Fire & Marine Insurance were referred to prosecutors by the Securities and Futures Commission under the Financial Services Commission last July on charges of using nonpublic information. They are suspected of having learned in advance of the merger between Meritz Financial Group's Meritz Fire & Marine Insurance and Meritz Securities in Nov. 2022 and buying shares through family accounts.
After the merger plan was announced and the share price of the related stocks rose, they allegedly sold the shares they had bought in advance, earning profits in the hundreds of millions of won.