Prosecution not to indict Mrs. Kim Keon-hee, citing lack of knowledge on stock price manipulation

[Anchor]

In April 2020, the Open Democratic Party filed a complaint alleging that Mrs. Kim Keon-hee was involved in the stock price manipulation of Deutsche Motors.

The prosecution indicted 15 individuals, including former Deutsch Motors Chairman Kwon Oh-soo, the following year, but the conclusion regarding Mrs. Kim was postponed.

After two written investigations, a closed-door face-to-face investigation was conducted last July.

And today (10.17), after four and a half years, the prosecution concluded that there was no charge against Mrs. Kim.

Kwon and others were found guilty in the second trial, but why the prosecution concluded that there was no charge against Mrs. Kim? Our reporter Hyun Ye-seul reports.

[Report]

The prosecution's conclusion regarding the suspicion that Mrs. Kim was involved in the stock price manipulation of Deutsch Motors was a non-prosecution disposition.

[Cho Sang-won/Deputy Chief Prosecutor, Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office: "It is difficult to view that the suspect entrusted account management or directly engaged in stock trading while being aware of or anticipating the market manipulation, so we have decided today that there is no charge against the suspect."]

In the first and second trials against the stock price manipulation group, three accounts belonging to Mrs. Kim were acknowledged to have been used for stock price manipulation.

The prosecution judged that all transactions in these accounts were conducted without Mrs. Kim's knowledge of the stock price manipulation.

Regarding the two 'discretionary accounts' entrusted to stock experts, the prosecution revealed that even the so-called 'main players' stated, "They never informed Mrs. Kim about the stock price manipulation" or "They thought Mrs. Kim entrusted the accounts because she was unaware of the stock price manipulation."

Other related individuals also testified that they did not inform Mrs. Kim about the stock price manipulation, which was consistent with her claims.

The 'direct management account' through which Mrs. Kim placed trading orders via a securities firm employee was also confirmed to show that she discussed and decided on trades with the securities firm employee after reviewing the entire order recordings.

The charge of aiding and abetting stock price manipulation was also not recognized.

The prosecution stated that Mr. Son, who was recognized for aiding and abetting, was a professional investor who exchanged text messages with Mr. Kim, the main player, and was aware of the stock price manipulation, but there was no such circumstance for Mrs. Kim.

Ultimately, the prosecution concluded that the essence of the case was that former Chairman Kwon utilized Mrs. Kim's accounts and funds for stock price manipulation.

Mrs. Kim's mother, Choi Eun-soon, was also found to have only lent her account for investment purposes, with no evidence to suggest she was aware of the stock price manipulation, leading to a non-prosecution disposition.

This is KBS News, Hyun Ye-seul.