Seoul High Court Overturns First Trial Acquittal, Imposes Suspended Prison Sentence... 300 Million Won Fine
"Disclosure of Interests" Accepted in First Trial, Rejected in Second
Court: "Serious Crime Due to Unfair Trading... Strict Criminal Responsibility Needed Due to High Social Condemnation"
Kim Jeong-hwan, known as the "Super Gaemi," who was acquitted in the first trial on charges of gaining tens of billions of won through advance stock trading, received a suspended prison sentence in the appellate trial. The court overturned the first trial, stating that the unfair trading distorted the flow of the capital market and undermined fairness, making social condemnation highly likely, and thus strict responsibility must be imposed.
On the 19th, the Seoul High Court Criminal Division 6-1 (Presiding Judges Jeong Jae-o, Choi Eun-jeong, and Lee Ye-seul) overturned the first trial's acquittal in the appeal trial of Kim, who was indicted for violating the Capital Markets Act, sentencing him to two years in prison with a three-year suspension and a fine of 300 million won. The court stated, "The defendant, as a professional investor widely known among individual investors, recommended the stock without disclosing his stock holdings and selling plans, then contradictorily sold it immediately," adding, "This is an unfair trading act using improper means and planning, constituting a serious crime."
In particular, the court added, "Since this distorted the flow of capital and damaged fairness and investor trust, making social condemnation highly likely, strict criminal responsibility must be imposed."
The court also overturned the first trial's view that it was difficult to see that Kim did not disclose conflicts of interest because the first trial had noted in November 2023 that he could hold and trade related stocks. The appellate court found problems with the judgment that it was not unfair because the possibility of selling was disclosed. The court said, "Statements such as 'I am interested and holding (the stock)' and 'Your happiness is my happiness' alone cannot be seen as disclosing conflicts of interest," and pointed out, "Kim concealed his true intentions and misled investors watching his YouTube broadcasts."
Earlier, Kim was indicted in February 2023 on charges of gaining unfair profits of about 5.89 billion won by recommending five stocks he had purchased on his YouTube channel with 500,000 subscribers from June 2021 to June 2022, driving up the stock prices and then selling them.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
