Kwon Sentenced to 3 Years in Prison, 4 Years Probation Confirmed
Professional Investor Son Found Guilty of Aiding
First Lady Kim Cleared of Charges Over Account Involvement
Former Deutsch Motors Chairman Kwon Oh-soo and related parties, who were the main culprits in the 'Deutsch Motors Stock Price Manipulation' case involving First Lady Kim Geon-hee, have been confirmed guilty. Kwon was sentenced to three years in prison with a four-year probation in the second trial.
On the 3rd, the Supreme Court's 3rd Division (Presiding Justice Lee Suk-yeon) upheld the original verdict that found Kwon and eight others, including Son Mo from Jeonju, guilty in the final appeal trial on charges including violation of the Capital Markets and Financial Investment Business Act.
The Supreme Court stated, "There is no error in the second trial's judgment regarding the manipulation of stock prices under the old Capital Markets Act, the purpose of the manipulation, or omission of judgment." Regarding Son, the court also ruled, "There is no error affecting the judgment such as failure to conduct necessary hearings on the aiding and abetting part, violation of the rules of logic and experience, or exceeding the limits of free evaluation of evidence."
Kwon and others were prosecuted in October 2021 for manipulating Deutsch Motors' stock price from 2009 to 2012 through organized illegal means such as wash trading and fictitious transactions using nominee accounts. The first trial found seven out of nine defendants guilty, and the second trial found all nine guilty. Kwon was sentenced to three years in prison with a four-year probation and fined 500 million won in the second trial and appealed.
Among the nine defendants, Son, whose account was used similarly to First Lady Kim's for stock price manipulation, was acquitted in the first trial but found guilty of aiding and abetting in the appeal trial and sentenced to six months in prison with a one-year probation. The court at the time judged that "Son tacitly recognized Kwon's stock price manipulation crimes while purchasing tens of billions of won worth of Deutsch Motors stocks."
First Lady Kim has been suspected of involvement as her account and her mother Choi Eun-soon's accounts were used in the case. The prosecution decided not to indict her in October last year, citing lack of clear evidence that she knowingly provided accounts for Kwon's stock price manipulation. The logic was that her case differs from Son's, who clearly recognized the manipulation through text messages exchanged with the so-called 'main manipulator' as a professional investor.
Regarding First Lady Kim's mother, Choi, it was found that manipulative orders came from two accounts. Among them, the Shinhan account was operated directly by Choi as she testified, and the Mirae Asset account was ruled not guilty because it was a nominee account of Kwon.
The case involving First Lady Kim is currently under review by the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office following an appeal against the non-indictment decision by the accuser, former lawmaker Choi Kang-wook.
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