Shin Jang-sik’s Office to Submit Financial Authorities’ Delayed Response Documents to Special Prosecutor: [Edaily Reporter Kim Hye-sun] As the special prosecutor Min Joong-ki’s team, which is investigating suspicions related to Kim Kun-hee, the wife of former President Yoon Seok-yeol, takes charge of the probe into Sambo Construction’s alleged stock manipulation, attention is on whether the financial authorities’ “delayed response” to related suspicions will also be scrutinized.
According to Yonhap News on the 6th, a representative from Shin Jang-sik’s office of the National Reconstruction Party stated, “We plan to submit a report to the special prosecutor next week, compiling suspicions and data raised in the National Assembly about the financial authorities’ slow response concerning Sambo Construction.”
The argument is that the reasons why the financial authorities did not promptly investigate when allegations of stock manipulation at Sambo Construction surfaced need to be uncovered through an investigation.
The stock manipulation allegation against Sambo Construction revolves around current and former employees allegedly boosting their company’s shares as Ukraine reconstruction-themed stocks. Sambo Construction’s former and current chairmen and CEOs are suspected of falsely suggesting they would undertake Ukraine reconstruction projects in May and June 2023, inflating stock prices, and making improper profits by selling their shares.
Sambo Construction was indeed classified as a Ukraine reconstruction-themed stock after participating in an international conference and signing an MOU with a local government in Ukraine. At the time, Minister of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport Won Hee-ryong also attended the conference. Sambo Construction’s stock price surged from 1,000 won to 5,500 won during trading within two months.
However, the Korea Exchange only initiated an investigation into unusual trading in July of the previous year, and the Financial Supervisory Service began its related investigation in September, taking over half a year before the Financial Services Commission’s Securities and Futures Commission reported the allegations to the prosecution in April this year. Lawmakers from the Democratic Party at the time protested why the Financial Supervisory Service, without compulsory investigation rights, did not quickly hand over the case to the Financial Services Commission or the prosecution. Additionally, figures like Kim Kun-hee were not included in the entities reported by the Financial Services Commission.
Meanwhile, the Kim Kun-hee special prosecutor team identifies Sambo Construction-related suspicions as their “first investigation target.” A special prosecutor team representative stated, “The decision to start with this case was based on factors such as preparedness and the high public interest. We will do our utmost to quickly and thoroughly clarify the allegations and suspicions related to this case.”