'Appa Chance Controversy' Lee Suk-yeon Donates Family Unlisted Stocks Worth 3.7 Billion Won

Donation of Stocks Worth 1.7 Billion KRW to Cheongsonyeon Haengbok Foundation
Spouse Also Makes Additional Donation Worth 1.9 Billion KRW to Fundraising Association

Lee Suk-yeon, a nominee for the Supreme Court Justice whose confirmation report was postponed due to controversy over his 20s child's 'stock dad chance,' donated unlisted stocks worth about 3.7 billion KRW held by his family.

On the 27th, the Youth Happiness Foundation issued a press release stating that it received a donation of unlisted stocks worth approximately 1.797 billion KRW, including 1,456 common shares of cosmetics R&D company A held by Lee's spouse and 400 shares held by their eldest daughter.

Lee, his spouse Jo Hyung-seop, CEO of Jeju Semiconductor, and Min Il-young, chairman of the Youth Happiness Foundation, attended the donation ceremony that day.

The foundation explained, "This donation was made after Lee's spouse and eldest daughter decided to donate about 48% of the unlisted stocks they held (5.95% of all issued shares of company A) to help the underprivileged in our society."

[Photo by Youth Happiness Foundation]

The Youth Happiness Foundation, a nonprofit organization under the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, supports juvenile detention center ex-inmates, youth preparing for independence, and youth outside of family and school environments.

Lee's spouse also donated additional unlisted stocks worth about 1.9 billion KRW.

According to the Jeju Community Chest of Korea, CEO Jo donated 2,000 unlisted shares to the Central Community Chest of Korea and the Jeju Community Chest of Korea the day before.

Jo and Lee also joined the Central Community Chest of Korea's Honor Society in May. The Honor Society is a group of individual donors who have donated over 100 million KRW or pledged to pay within five years.

Jo said, "An opportunity was created to convey the meaning of sharing together with my wife, and we want to continue that intention," adding, "We practiced stock donation to help those in need in the region."

Lee's eldest daughter, Jo (26), purchased most of the unlisted stocks of company A recommended by her father in 2017 with money gifted from him, then sold half of them back to her father in May last year, earning a capital gain of 380 million KRW, 63 times the principal, which sparked controversy.

On the 24th, Lee apologized and announced that he would donate the unlisted stocks held by his spouse and eldest daughter. The donation includes all shares of company A, with 400 shares held by the eldest daughter and 3,465 shares held by the spouse, worth about 3.7 billion KRW based on the market price at the time the eldest daughter made the capital gain.

The National Assembly's Special Committee on Personnel Hearings adopted the appointment consent review reports for Supreme Court Justice nominees Noh Kyung-pil and Park Young-jae at a plenary meeting the day before but postponed the adoption of the report for Lee.