Four suspects, including the head of a major hospital and a branch manager at a financial firm, who are tied to a large-scale stock manipulation case worth more than 100 billion won, are facing possible arrest.
On the 1st at 2 p.m., Hwang Jung-yeon, the Director General judge in charge of warrants at the Seoul Southern District Court, held a pre-arrest suspect questioning (substantive warrant review) for four suspects accused of violating the Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act and other charges.
At about 1:54 p.m., the group, who covered their faces with masks, appeared at court and gave no answers to reporters' questions such as, "Do you admit to committing price rigging in Byucksan as well?", "Do you have anything to say to harmed shareholders?", and "Since when did you plan the crimes?"
They are accused of selecting DI Dongil, which has low daily trading volume, as the target of a stock manipulation case and rigging prices after pooling about 100 billion won from corporate funds they control and loans from financial companies.
Prosecutors believe they used a minority shareholder campaign as a pretext to pressure DI Dongil's management into signing a trust contract to acquire treasury shares, then managed the stock price to lure investors.
The case became known in March when the Securities and Futures Commission of the Financial Services Commission filed complaints against 11 people—including wealthy individuals who run a general hospital and a major private academy, as well as executives at an asset management company, branch managers at financial firms, and other financial experts and minority shareholder activists—and four corporations.
Also early this year, President Lee Jae-myung called for a tough response to stock manipulation, and as the financial authorities began investigating, it drew attention as the "first case to be ruined by stock manipulation."
In May, prosecutors raided NH Investment & Securities and DI Dongil once, and last month expanded the probe by raiding KB Securities, NH Investment & Securities, and Kyobo Securities.