The father-in-law of singer and actor Lee Seung-gi has been detained on charges of manipulating the stock price of a KOSDAQ listed company, reigniting attention on the 'Lime incident,' which caused 1.6 trillion won in damages to investors. His illegal activities were uncovered during the prosecution's process of apprehending Lee In-kwang, the chairman of S-More, one of the main culprits of the Lime incident, in France last year.
Prosecutors confirmed that Chairman Lee In-kwang manipulated the stock prices of two companies, Joongang Advanced Materials and QUANTAPIA, to secure funds for his escape and announced the interim investigation results at the end of last year.
On the 28th, Director General Park Chan-seok of the Southern District Court of Seoul conducted a pre-arrest interrogation of the individual accused of violating the Capital Market Act and issued a detention warrant, citing concerns that he might flee.
This individual, who is the husband of actress Kyeon Mi-ri and Lee Seung-gi's father-in-law, is accused of manipulating stock prices by spreading false information that the struggling company QUANTAPIA was producing high-value products like quantum sensors and wind power generation, and received an investment of 100 billion won. Prosecutors explain that the illicit gains from this fraudulent transaction amounted to approximately 5 billion won.
According to stock price manipulation, QUANTAPIA’s stock soared from 813 won to 4,400 won between May and December 2023. However, as always with manipulated stock prices, they eventually plummeted.
Afterward, QUANTAPIA was fined 60 million won by the Securities and Futures Commission under the Financial Services Commission for falsely accounting for cost of sales and forging audit request materials, and it was delisted last year. During the cleanup trading prior to the delisting, QUANTAPIA's stock traded at 40 won.
According to the Southern District Prosecutors' Office, this individual and his group were also involved in manipulating the stock price of Joongang Advanced Materials. From November 2022 to October 2023, they raised the stock price of Joongang Advanced Materials from about 580 won to 5,850 won through high-priced purchase orders and other price manipulation tactics. Prosecutors believe the illicit gains acquired by them amount to 14 billion won.
It has been reported that they transferred the money made from trading the skyrocketing stocks to Lee In-kwang, who was fleeing abroad. Lee used this money to live lavishly in Nice, France.
With the cooperation of Interpol, police and prosecutors apprehended Lee In-kwang last year after more than four years of fleeing. Lee is currently believed to be undergoing an extradition trial in France.
The relationship between Lee Seung-gi's father-in-law and Lee In-kwang has not been clearly revealed. However, given that money earned from stock manipulation was sent to France, it is presumed that there is either a hierarchical relationship or a close acquaintance. This individual is also undergoing trial for manipulating the stock price of Botabiotech. In January last year, prosecutors demanded a sentence of 3 years and 6 months in prison and a fine of 3 billion won for the stock manipulation charges.
The day before, Lee Seung-gi announced the indictment of his father-in-law and stated that he would sever ties with his wife Lee Da-in's family. Lee said through his agency, Big Planet Made, 'My father-in-law has recently been indicted by the prosecution for similar illegal activities, and due to this incident, the trust among family members has been irreparably damaged, so my spouse and I have decided to cut ties with the family after much contemplation.'