National Assembly Political Affairs Committee Plenary Session
Rep. Min Byung-duk Raises His Voice: "Hey, What Have You Been Doing for Six Months?"
Governor Lee Responds: "Why Are You Speaking Informally?" as Heated Exchange Ensues
Lee Bok-hyun, Governor of the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS), stated on the 18th that "the Samboo Construction stock manipulation suspicion is considered the most important case" and "we will try to handle it as much as possible within my term."
Governor Lee made this remark during a plenary session of the National Assembly's Political Affairs Committee when asked by Yoon Han-hong, the committee chairman, "When will the Samboo Construction case be concluded and handed over to the prosecution?"
He added, "We consider the Samboo Construction stock manipulation suspicion as the most important case among the cases we are currently handling."
The FSS is investigating more than 200 accounts, including those under the name of the former CEO Lee and his proxies, related to Samboo Construction, which gained attention as a Ukraine reconstruction theme stock and was later suspected of stock manipulation. They are tracing the funds to find out where the profits of over 10 billion KRW made by major shareholders and other stakeholders have flowed.
However, Governor Lee clarified that First Lady Kim Keon-hee and former Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Won Hee-ryong are not included among the investigation targets of Samboo Construction.
In response to Rep. Min Byung-duk's question whether Kim Keon-hee is included among the stakeholders under investigation, he said, "She is not included."
Regarding the allegation that former Minister Won Hee-ryong took Samboo Construction to the Ukraine forum held in Poland, he added, "Not all politicians are illegally involved in political theme stocks just because they are political theme stocks," and "Minister Won Hee-ryong has no connection."
When questioned whether it is premature to say that Kim Keon-hee and Minister Won Hee-ryong are unrelated to the Samboo Construction case under investigation, he responded, "Of course, the final conclusion comes after the investigation is completed," and added, "I also view cases like this, which are said to have cheated small investors, very negatively."
On the same day, tensions rose between Governor Lee and opposition lawmakers over the Samboo Construction stock manipulation suspicion.
Governor Lee retorted to Rep. Min Byung-duk's accusation that "all power institutions are protecting the stock manipulation suspicion" by saying, "You are politicizing the amendment to the Commercial Act, which is why it has become a political dispute, so how can you talk about unfair trading like that?"
When Rep. Min raised his voice, saying, "Hey, how is the amendment to the Commercial Act a political dispute? What have you been doing for six months after receiving the psychological report from the stock exchange?" Governor Lee shouted back, "Why are you speaking informally?"
The opposition has raised suspicions of stock manipulation, noting that former CEO Lee Jong-ho, a key figure in the Deutsche Motors stock manipulation suspicion, posted a message saying "Check Samboo tomorrow" in a group chat, after which the trading volume and stock price of Samboo Construction surged.
After attending the Ukraine Global Reconstruction Forum held in Poland in May 2023, Samboo Construction was classified as a Ukraine reconstruction stock, and its stock price, which was in the 1,000 KRW range, surged to 5,500 KRW intraday in July of the same year.
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