Cash, Checks, Luxury Watches, and More Seized from Residence
A check seized from Lee Hee-jin's residence. [Image source = Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office]
The prosecution has fully recovered the 12.26 billion won in fines from Lee Hee-jin (38), known as the "Cheongdam-dong Stock Tycoon." Lee was sentenced to 3 years and 6 months in prison by the Supreme Court for illegal stock trading.
The Crime Proceeds Recovery Division of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Yoo Min-jong) announced on the 26th that they have recovered the entire amount of fines from Lee and returned it to the national treasury. Lee is accused of engaging in unauthorized financial investment business from 2015 to 2016, recommending unlisted stock items, and selling stocks he had previously traded to gain an illicit profit of 12.26 billion won.
In February 2020, the Supreme Court sentenced Lee to 3 years and 6 months in prison and imposed a fine of 12.26 billion won for violating the Capital Markets Act and other charges.
Until 2022, Lee had paid only a portion of the total fine (about 2.8 billion won) and ceased payments thereafter. In response, since April, the prosecution has employed various methods such as asset investigations, tracking accounts and overseas virtual assets, searches and seizures, seizure of hidden assets, provisional seizure, and civil lawsuits to recover the full amount of the fine. The seized items included cash and checks worth 300 million won, virtual assets worth 1.2 billion won, and luxury watches.
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