[Market Focus] Seohee Construction Drops Over 8% on News of Special Prosecutor's Raid Related to Kim Keonhee

Seohee Construction shares plunged in early trading on August 11. Investor sentiment appears to have weakened following news of a raid by the special prosecutor's team investigating Kim Keonhee.

As of 9:23 a.m. on this day, Seohee Construction shares were trading at 1,600 won on the KOSDAQ market, down 8.62% from the previous trading day. The stock opened at 1,630 won and at one point during the session fell to as low as 1,547 won.

The special prosecutor's team led by Min Jungki, which is investigating allegations involving First Lady Kim Keonhee, announced that it had launched a search and seizure operation at Seohee Construction on this day. It is reported that the team suspects Seohee Construction may have lobbied for personnel appointments by gifting an expensive necklace to Kim Keonhee.

This necklace is a Van Cleef & Arpels piece that Kim Keonhee wore in June 2022 when she accompanied President Yoon Sukyeol on an overseas trip to attend the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit. The special prosecutor's team is said to have secured records showing that an associate of the chairman of Seohee Construction purchased the same model of necklace on March 9, 2022, immediately after the presidential election. The team also found that the chairman's son-in-law was appointed as Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister in June 2022, just before the overseas trip of former President Yoon Sukyeol and his wife.