The defendant accused of being involved in a large sell order from First Lady Kim Geon-hee's account during the period when Deutsche Motors' stock price manipulation took place denied any connection with her.
On the 9th, the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 23 (Chief Judge Jo Byung-gu) held a trial on charges of violating the Capital Markets Act against former Deutsche Motors Chairman Kwon Oh-soo (64) and others. On this day, Min, an executive of the investment advisory firm Black Pearl Invest (hereafter Black Pearl), who is in custody, reaffirmed his position that he was not involved in Mrs. Kim's stock transactions.
Min is accused of conspiring with Kim, a 'stock price manipulation player' (also in custody and indicted), to artificially raise Deutsche Motors' stock price by exchanging stocks with each other in the market. During the witness examination, Min responded that he "does not remember and does not know the account under Kim Geon-hee's name."
The prosecution views their stock transactions as collusive trading, where stocks are exchanged in the market to manipulate prices, but Kim and Min argue that it was a legitimate block deal with no issues. The court plans to conclude the trial on the 16th of this month after hearing the prosecution's sentencing recommendation and the defendants' final arguments.
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