On the first day of resumed trading, the five stocks that had triggered a simultaneous plunge to the lower price limit, including Dongil Industrial, recorded a joint drop to the lower limit in the early session on the 3rd.
As of 9:45 a.m. that day, four stocks?Dongil Industrial, Daehan Textile, Dongil Metal, and Banglim?had all fallen to the maximum price limit compared to the previous trading day.
Dongil Industrial dropped 30.00% to 107,800 won, Daehan Textile fell 29.92% to 26,700 won, Dongil Metal declined 29.95% to 15,200 won, and Banglim slipped 29.94% to 3,580 won.
Manho Steel initially fell 28.71% to 32,650 won compared to the previous trading day but slightly recovered and is currently showing a 17.36% decrease at 37,850 won.
When these five stocks simultaneously hit the lower price limit around the same time on the 14th of last month, the Korea Exchange suspended trading of these stocks starting the following day.
Additionally, the Financial Services Commission, the Financial Supervisory Service, and other authorities launched an emergency inspection to determine whether there was any unfair trading related to these stocks.
On the 30th of last month, the Financial Services Commission, the Financial Supervisory Service, and the Korea Exchange announced a plan to resume trading, stating, "The Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office conducted search and seizure operations and pre-indictment seizure orders against suspects based on data provided by financial authorities."
On the 15th of last month, the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office stated in the search warrant that Kang Mo (52), the operator of an online stock information cafe identified as the mastermind behind the plunge of the five stocks, is estimated to have gained unfair profits amounting to 10.4 billion won through market manipulation.
The prosecution believes that Kang manipulated stock prices through practices such as matched orders while trading shares of several listed companies from January 2020 until last month, thereby securing illicit gains. Since the investigation is in its early stages, the scale of illicit gains and the timing of the offenses may change.
Kang claims that he has been purchasing stocks over a long period as part of a small shareholder movement and denies involvement in market manipulation or stock price rigging.
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