Independent lawmaker Lee Choonseok, who is under suspicion for conducting stock transactions under borrowed names, reportedly appeared before the police again recently.
The Financial Crime Investigation Unit of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency announced on September 2 that it had summoned both Assemblyman Lee and his aide, identified as Cha, who lent his name, for additional questioning over the past weekend.
A police official stated, "We conducted further investigations with the suspects to verify the facts regarding the reported allegations, but we cannot disclose specific details of the investigation."
This investigation began after media outlets captured Assemblyman Lee trading artificial intelligence (AI)-related stocks under aide Cha's name during a plenary session at the National Assembly last month.
Since then, the police have booked both Assemblyman Lee and aide Cha on charges of violating the Real Name Financial Transactions Act and the Conflict of Interest Prevention Act, and are currently investigating them.
Assemblyman Lee and aide Cha have admitted to violating the Real Name Financial Transactions Act regarding the borrowed-name transactions, but they have denied allegations of violating the Capital Markets Act by using undisclosed information obtained from bodies such as the National Policy Planning Committee.
The police reportedly believe that the period and volume of stock transactions conducted under borrowed names by Assemblyman Lee are significant, and are comparing the stocks traded during this period and the circumstances of the transactions with the legislative activities at the time.
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