Singer and actor Lee Seung-gi's father-in-law has been arrested on suspicion of colluding to manipulate the stock prices of a company listed on the KOSDAQ market for illegal profits.
According to the legal community on the 29th, Park Chan-seok, Director General of the Seoul Southern District Court, issued an arrest warrant the day before for Lee (57), who is facing allegations of violating the Capital Markets Act, stating, "There is a risk of escape."
Lee, who is Lee Seung-gi's father-in-law, is accused of manipulating the share prices of two listed companies, including QUANTAPIA, by placing orders to manipulate the market and spreading rumors. Investigations revealed that Lee received money from these listed companies under the pretext of making requests to officials at the Korea Exchange, and he was promised a large sum if the requests were fulfilled.
The Financial Securities Crime Joint Investigation Team of the Seoul Southern District Prosecutor's Office, led by Director General Ahn Chang-joo, identified Lee's involvement in the QUANTAPIA stock manipulation case during their investigation and filed for an arrest warrant.
QUANTAPIA was fined 60 million won by the Securities and Futures Commission last December for falsely reporting its cost of goods sold in 2018 and falsifying documents requested by auditors. Subsequently, trading in its stocks was suspended by the Korea Exchange.
On the morning of the same day, Lee Seung-gi issued a statement, saying, "The trust within the family has been severely damaged to an irreparable level," and, "We, as a couple, have decided to sever ties with my wife's family after much deliberation." However, it is reported that the incident mentioned by Lee in his statement and this arrest case are separate.
Lee Seung-gi married actress Kyeon Mi-ri's daughter, Lee Da-in, in 2023, and they have one daughter together. Lee's father-in-law, who remarried Kyeon Mi-ri, was prosecuted for illegally profiting by artificially inflating the stock prices of a KOSDAQ-listed company where he served as a director from 2014 to 2016 and selling the stocks, and the case has been annulled with a guilty interpretation by the Supreme Court.