Special counsel raids Sambu

[Anchor]

The special prosecutor for Kim Keon-hee conducted a search and seizure at Sambu Engineering & Construction today (7.3) as their first investigation.

This is to clarify the suspicion that Kim is involved in stock price manipulation of the company.

Reporter Jeong Hae-joo has the story.

[Report]

Just a day after the special prosecutor's office was established, they simultaneously searched 13 locations, including the headquarters of Sambu Engineering & Construction.

This is the first compulsory investigation.

The search and seizure targets included seven residences of former and current executives, including former chairman Cho Sung-ok.

[Moon Hong-joo / Assistant Special Prosecutor: "The charges involve fraudulent transactions and violations of the Capital Markets Act. This is the first compulsory investigation among the various targets defined by the Special Prosecutor Act."]

The reason the special prosecutor chose Sambu Engineering & Construction as their 'first investigation' is to confirm whether Kim was involved in the stock price manipulation case that occurred in 2023.

At that time, more than ten former and current owners and representatives of Sambu Engineering & Construction were reported to the prosecution for deceiving investors by pretending to promote a reconstruction project in Ukraine, inflating the stock price, and then selling shares to gain hundreds of billions of won in unjust profits.

However, just before the stock price surged, Lee Jong-ho, former CEO of Black Pearl Invest known to be managing Kim's account, posted a suspicious message in a group chat of reserve Marine Corps members saying, "Check Sambu tomorrow."

Two days later, former President Yoon and his wife met with the first lady of Ukraine during her visit to Korea, and thereafter, the reconstruction project began to be promoted.

This is the reason why Kim is mentioned in the allegations.

The Financial Supervisory Service reported the former chairman of Sambu Engineering & Construction to the prosecution last April but excluded Kim and former CEO Lee from the report.

The special prosecutor is expected to focus on analyzing seized items such as company PCs and the suspect's mobile phones to clarify the relationship between Sambu Engineering & Construction, former CEO Lee, and former First Lady Kim.

This is KBS News, Jeong Hae-joo.