Eun Bok-hyun, the head of the Financial Supervisory Service, noted that Kim Keon-hee and former Minister Won Hee-ryong have no connection to the allegations of stock manipulation regarding SAMBU Construction. Earlier, it was reported that individuals associated with SAMBU Construction made a profit of around 11 billion won, but this does not include Kim and the former Minister.
During the National Assembly's full committee meeting on the 18th, Min Byung-deok, a member of the Democratic Party, asked, “Is Kim included among those who profited from SAMBU Construction?” to which the head replied, “She is not included.”
In May 2023, SAMBU Construction's stock price soared from around 1,000 won to 5,500 won as it became associated with Ukrainian reconstruction projects. In this process, individuals connected to SAMBU Construction reportedly secured a profit of around 11 billion won from sales. In connection with this, on the 5th of this month, the head stated during a meeting with reporters, “It is hard to deny that some stakeholders of SAMBU Construction realized profits exceeding 10 billion won.”
During the full committee meeting that day, Min said, “Former Minister Won Hee-ryong brought SAMBU Construction to the Ukrainian forum,” and asked again, “The account manager of Lee Jong-ho, who manipulated the stock price of Deutsch Motors, sent a message in a group chat saying ‘Check SAMBU,’ is there no connection to Kim?”
In response, the head said, “Just because it is a political theme stock, it does not mean the politician is involved with the theme stock,” adding, “The former Minister also has no connection to SAMBU Construction.” He emphasized, “While we are inspecting various allegations, it is inappropriate to conclude suspicions merely because a political figure is involved.”
Meanwhile, SAMBU Construction announced that it has signed a comprehensive memorandum of understanding (MOU) related to reconstruction projects with the northeastern Ukrainian city of Konotop at the Ukrainian Global Reconstruction Forum held in Poland, categorizing it as a Ukrainian reconstruction company.