Arrest Warrant Issued in High-Profile Stock Manipulation Case

SEOUL, Sept. 11 (Yonhap) — In a notable development, special counsel Min Joong-ki’s investigation team filed for an arrest warrant on Thursday, targeting Lee Ki-hoon, the vice chair of Sambu Construction. He’s being accused of playing a significant role in a scheme that allegedly inflated the company’s stock prices, connected to former first lady Kim Keon Hee.

The team submitted the warrant request to the Seoul Central District Court after questioning Lee about actions taken to artificially boost the company’s share value earlier this year.

Reports suggest that Sambu Construction misled investors in 2023 by indicating plans to undertake reconstruction projects in Ukraine. This assertion reportedly propelled the share price from about 1,000 won (around $0.72) in May to an astounding 5,500 won by July.

It’s estimated that Lee made profits in the tens of billions of won as a result of these manipulative practices carried out between May and September 2023.

Interestingly, suspicion has also fallen on Kim after a close associate posted a group chat suggesting that investors should closely monitor Sambu Construction’s stocks before their dramatic rise.

The Seoul Central District Court is expected to conduct a hearing on Friday to decide on the warrant’s approval.

One of the critical angles of this investigation is whether authorities will extend their focus toward the former first lady herself.

In July 2023, Yoon Suk Yeol, who was ousted from his presidential position, made a controversial visit to Ukraine alongside Kim, even amidst a travel restriction to the war-torn nation, to discuss potential joint reconstruction initiatives with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Investigators are currently delving deeper to ascertain if this trip had any correlation with the soaring stock value of Sambu.

Reach out to yunhwanchae@yna.co.kr for more updates.