The Special Counsel Team led by Min Joong-ki announced on the 27th that they had indicted Yang Nam-hee, Chairman, without detention on charges of participating in stock price manipulation of Well Biotec, an affiliate of Sambu Construction. Lee Ki-hoon, former Vice Chairman, who conspired with Chairman Yang in the stock price manipulation, was also additionally indicted on the same charges.
Chairman Yang and former Vice Chairman Lee are accused of distributing false and exaggerated press releases from May to October 2023, claiming that Well Biotec was participating in Ukraine’s reconstruction project, deceiving investors, inflating the stock price, and selling the stocks at high prices to secure unjust profits worth approximately 21.5 billion Korean won (violation of the Capital Markets Act).
They are also accused of selling convertible bonds (CBs) worth approximately 16 billion Korean won held by Well Biotec to their borrowed-name accounts or interested parties at prices significantly lower than fair value, causing approximately 30.5 billion Korean won in damages to the company (breach of trust under the Special Act on the Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes).
The Well Biotec stock price manipulation case is mentioned as a mirror image of the Sambu Construction case due to similar criminal methods. All former and current executives involved in the Sambu Construction stock price manipulation have been indicted and are undergoing trial.
The Special Counsel Team stated, “Stock manipulators used false information to inflate stock prices and then gained massive unjust profits through price differentials,” adding, “This is a serious crime that undermines the trust and order of South Korea’s capital market.”
