Those involved in the 'Deutsch Motors stock price manipulation' case have been convicted of violating the Capital Markets Act by the Supreme Court. This case has gained attention due to allegations that Kim Keon-hee, wife of President Yoon Suk-yeol, was involved. However, the prosecution did not charge Kim in connection with the case.
On the 3rd, the Supreme Court's third division (Chief Justice Lee Sook-yeon) dismissed both the prosecution's and defendants' appeals regarding the Capital Markets Act violation case involving former Deutsch Motors Chairman Kwon Oh-soo and others, affirming the ruling from the second trial. Consequently, the main culprit, former Chairman Kwon, received a sentence of three years in prison with a four-year suspension and a fine of 500 million won. All other accomplices were also convicted.
The essence of this case is that former Chairman Kwon allegedly used a stock price manipulation group to artificially inflate Deutsche Motors' stock price from 2009 to 2012. The investigation by the prosecution began in April 2020 when Choi Kang-wook, a former Democratic Party lawmaker, reported Kim for violating the Capital Markets Act. After 19 months of investigation, the prosecution charged nine individuals, including former Chairman Kwon, at the end of 2021, but Kim was not charged.
Meanwhile, the first trial convicted seven of the nine defendants, while the second trial convicted all nine. The trial documents from both the first and second trials included information that the securities account held by Kim was used for stock price manipulation. The prosecution continued to investigate Kim but ultimately found no charges against her on October 17 of last year, indicating that they could not confirm testimony and circumstances suggesting that she was involved in or aware of the stock price manipulation.