The special prosecution team plans to summon and investigate Lee Il-jun, chairman of SAMBU Construction, and Lee Eung-geun, former CEO of SAMBU Construction, on the morning of the 23rd. This is the first summons since Chairman Lee and former CEO Lee were arrested on the 18th.
The special prosecution team noted that they plan to summon Chairman Lee and former CEO Lee as detained suspects on the morning of the 22nd, regarding allegations of stock price manipulation involving SAMBU Construction.
The special prosecution team believes that Chairman Lee, former CEO Lee, former Chairman Jo Seong-ok, Vice Chairman Lee Gi-hoon, and other current and former executives of SAMBU Construction colluded to gain illicit profits amounting to 36.9 billion won. The special prosecution team applied charges of fraudulent transactions under the Capital Markets Act and requested an arrest warrant on the 14th.
Chairman Lee and former CEO Lee were arrested on the 18th. Meanwhile, the court dismissed the arrest warrant for former Chairman Jo, stating that there was a lack of specific roles and involvement details regarding former Chairman Jo's fraudulent transaction offenses.
Chairman Lee established Daeyang Construction in 1993 in Naju, South Jeolla Province, and was engaged in real estate development before acquiring several companies listed on the KOSDAQ in 2018. After changing the name of the acquired company to DYD in 2021, he acquired the equity of SAMBU Construction owned by former Chairman Jo through DYD in 2023.
The allegations of stock price manipulation regarding SAMBU Construction stem from the company's rapid rise as a theme stock for Ukraine's reconstruction from 2022 to 2023, which was believed to have been influenced by stock manipulation forces.
Lee Jong-ho, former head of Black Pearl Investment who managed the accounts of Kim Keon-hee, wife of former President Yoon Suk-yeol, reportedly sent a message saying, 'Check SAMBU tomorrow' in a KakaoTalk group chat involving friends from the Marine Corps on May 14, 2023.
Two days later (May 16), former President Yoon and his wife met with Olena Zelenska, the wife of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Six days later (May 22), then-Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Won Hee-ryong and officials from SAMBU Construction attended the Ukraine Global Reconstruction Forum held in Poland.
Subsequently, SAMBU Construction announced on May 23 that it had signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) related to reconstruction projects with Ukraine's Mariupol City and Polish construction companies. The stock price of SAMBU Construction remained in the 1,000 won range until mid-May 2023, then surged to 5,500 won during trading in mid-July.