Court States "Concern Over Evidence Destruction"... Reason for Issuing Warrant Explained
Kwon Oh-soo, chairman of Deutsch Motors, who is suspected of stock manipulation and breach of trust, is attending the pre-arrest detention hearing at the Seoul District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul on the 16th. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@
[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] Kwon Osu (63), chairman of Deutsche Motors, who is accused of stock price manipulation and breach of trust, has been arrested. As suspicions have been raised that Kim Gunhee, wife of Yoon Seok-yeol, the presidential candidate of the People Power Party, participated as a 'broker' in the stock price manipulation process, there are expectations that the prosecution's investigation into Kim may also intensify following Kwon's arrest.
At around 10:48 p.m. on the 16th, Judge Lee Sechang, in charge of warrants at the Seoul Central District Court, issued an arrest warrant for Chairman Kwon, citing "concerns over evidence destruction." After completing the pre-arrest suspect interrogation (warrant substantive examination) held from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. that day, Kwon, who was waiting at Seoul Detention Center, immediately underwent the arrest procedure.
With Kwon's arrest, the prosecution's investigation into Kim is expected to accelerate. Having secured Kwon's custody, the prosecution is likely to question how involved Kim was in the stock price manipulation process to gather as much evidence as possible and subsequently summon Kim for investigation. If it becomes clear that Kim had a specific role and executed actions, she could be charged as an accomplice in stock price manipulation.
The investigation initially began after a complaint was filed regarding Kim's suspected involvement in stock price manipulation. Yoon's camp denies the allegations, stating, "We entrusted transactions to Lee and only suffered losses." Chairman Kwon also did not respond to reporters' questions about whether he had any interactions with Kim or if he knew about Kim being mentioned as a broker, entering the courtroom without any comment.
Previously, Kwon, as the largest shareholder or CEO of Deutsche Motors, is accused of leaking internal company information to boost stock prices and conducting stock price manipulation to prevent price declines.
It has been investigated that Kwon mobilized external forces as 'players' to create stronger buying momentum. The prosecution believes Kwon contacted people from securities firms or investment advisory companies, providing various favorable internal information and requesting stock price support or management.
The prosecution's assessment is that from December 2009 for about three years, Kwon and others directly purchased approximately 15.99 million shares of Deutsche Motors stock (worth about 63.6 billion KRW) or induced customers to buy through illegal means.
Meanwhile, three people, including investment company CEO Lee, who are accused of conspiring with Chairman Kwon in stock price manipulation (violating the Capital Markets Act), were indicted in custody on the 25th of last month and the 5th of this month, with the first trial scheduled for the 19th. Another person, who acted as a 'player' in the stock price manipulation and managed Kim's account, reportedly disappeared before a detention hearing on the 6th of last month but was recently arrested and is currently detained at Seoul Detention Center.
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