Min Joong-ki's special counsel team is said to have filed a statement of reasons for appeal rebutting the not-guilty verdict in the first trial for Kim Keon-hee in the Deutsch Motors stock manipulation case. It is known to include text messages that purportedly prove collusion between Kim and the Deutsch Motors stock manipulation ring.
According to legal sources on the 10th, the special counsel submitted a statement of reasons for appeal on the 12th of last month to the Seoul High Court Criminal Division 15-2 (Presiding Judge Shin Jong-o) regarding the Deutsch Motors stock manipulation case, as part of a rebuttal to the first trial that found Kim not guilty of the related charges.
The special counsel reportedly included in the appeal a text message that the "second-phase" lead operator, a person surnamed Kim, in the Deutsch Motors stock manipulation sent to the company's accounting manager. It was sent around May 2012, when Deutsch Motors' stock price was falling. The message conveyed that Kim asked the accounting manager to "ask Kim Keon-hee or her friends for help."
The special counsel views this message as key evidence indicating the possibility that Kim took part to artificially boost the stock price.
Earlier, the first-instance court found Kim not guilty of violating the Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act. It determined that while there was awareness of Deutsch Motors price rigging, collusion with the price-rigging group was not established.
The special counsel is also said to have included in the appeal text messages between "political broker" Myung Tae-gyun and former President Yoon. After former President Yoon declared his presidential bid in July 2021 and sent polling results to Myung, Myung said, "The higher the proportion of landline calls, the better," and then delivered results with the landline proportion actually increased. This is intended to rebut the first trial's finding of not guilty on Myung's alleged violation of the Political Funds Act related to polling.
The special counsel plans to rebut the first trial's findings through an 83-page statement of reasons for appeal on the Deutsch Motors stock manipulation and a 102-page statement on the Myung Tae-gyun polling case. In addition, it is reported to have filed a 39-page statement on the alleged Unification Church influence-peddling. In the first trial, regarding Kim and others' "Unification Church lobbying allegations," only the charge of bribery for brokerage under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes was partially found guilty. Accordingly, on Jan. 28, a sentence of one year and eight months in prison and a forfeiture of 12,815,000 won was imposed.
The first preparatory hearing of the second trial will be held on the 11th.