Lee Gi-hun, former SAMBU Construction vice chairman who was indicted and detained on stock manipulation charges, flatly denied the allegations at the first trial on the 13th. The court decided to merge the trials of SAMBU Construction's former and current executives, who were indicted and detained on the same charges, with Lee's case.
On this day, the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 34 (Presiding Judge Han Sung-jin) held the first preparatory hearing for Lee, the former vice chairman indicted on charges of violating the Act on the Capital Market and Financial Investment Business.
A preparatory hearing organizes issues, evidence, and future schedules before a formal trial, and defendants are not required to appear. Lee did not attend the hearing.
That day, Lee's side said of the prosecution's indictment, "Some of the facts stated in the indictment itself are wrong," and added, "We will contest the facts through future trials."
SAMBU Construction is accused of violating the Capital Markets Act by heavily promoting in May 2023 that it attended a Ukraine reconstruction forum held in Poland and signed various memorandums of understanding (MOUs), boosting the share price and then selling its holdings to reap unlawful gains worth about 36.9 billion won. Prosecutors named Lee as the principal offender who planned and carried out the stock manipulation in the case. Lee is also accused of manipulating the share price of Well Biotec, where he serves as chairman, in a manner similar to SAMBU Construction.
The court decided to merge the trial of SAMBU Construction Chairman Lee Il-jun and former CEO Lee Eung-geun, who were indicted and detained as Lee's alleged accomplices, with the case heard that day. The three will be tried together starting with the first trial on the 31st of this month.