Former POSCO Group Chairman Choi Jeong-woo, who was accused by a civic group of buying company stock using nonpublic information, was cleared by prosecutors.
The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office said on the 25th that it decided not to indict Choi, the former chairman, and other POSCO executives and employees on allegations of violating the Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act due to insufficient evidence.
The Lawyers for a Democratic Society, the People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy (PSPD), and the Metal Workers' Union filed a complaint with prosecutors in Mar. 2021 accusing then-POSCO Chairman Choi Jeong-woo and 64 executives and employees of violating the Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act.
They took issue with the fact that the chairman at the time, Choi, and other executives and employees purchased a total of 19,209 POSCO shares from Mar. 12 to 27, 2020, which was one month before POSCO's board resolved on a 1 trillion won share buyback plan.
POSCO, on the other hand, argued that it was "done voluntarily to show a commitment to responsible management to the market." It said that after POSCO's share price plunged 42% from the start of the year due to the impact of COVID-19, a large number of shares were bought as part of responsible management.
The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office in charge of the case conducted an investigation, including a search and seizure of the POSCO Center in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, but found no particular evidence of wrongdoing.
Prosecutors explained, "As the stock price fell due to the spread of COVID-19, POSCO executives and employees bought POSCO shares to demonstrate a commitment to responsible management and to enhance market trust," adding, "No evidence was found to admit the use of nonpublic material information."