Prosecutors Arrest Five Fundraisers of 'Edison Motors' on Charges of Evidence Tampering and Flight Risk

One Member of the Group Says "Need to Guarantee Right to Defense"...Warrant Request Dismissed

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Byung-don] A group accused of raising funds to purchase stocks in connection with the Edison Motors stock manipulation case has been arrested.

On the 18th, Judge Hong Jin-pyo, in charge of warrants at the Seoul Southern District Court, held a pre-arrest hearing (warrant substantive examination) for five people including Han, and issued arrest warrants citing "risk of evidence destruction and flight."

However, the arrest warrant request for Ahn was dismissed, citing "the need to guarantee the right to defense considering the scope and role of involvement."

Han and others are accused of violating the Capital Markets Act by playing roles such as raising funds while boosting the stock price of Edison EV (now Smart Solutions), an affiliate of Edison Motors, by promoting the favorable news of pursuing the acquisition of Ssangyong Motor and realizing profits.

The Joint Investigation Team on Financial and Securities Crimes of the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Dan Sung-han) plans to intensively question the arrested individuals about their methods of raising funds and the scale of profits gained from stock manipulation.

Edison Motors was selected as the preferred bidder for the acquisition of Ssangyong Motor in October last year and signed a merger and acquisition (M&A) contract. At that time, the stock price of Edison EV, which was the company's funding channel, soared on expectations of the Ssangyong Motor acquisition.

During this process, the major shareholder investment association of Edison EV sold most of its shares and realized profits, sparking controversy over a 'mukjwi' (walkaway). Ultimately, the merger was canceled as Edison Motors failed to pay the remaining acquisition funds.

Last month on the 24th, prosecutors indicted Kang Young-kwon, chairman of Edison Motors, and three former executives of Edison Motors and Edison EV on charges of violating the Capital Markets Act by inflating Edison EV's stock price and illegally gaining 162.1 billion KRW in profits.