This article was published on May 14, 2025, at 4:48 p.m. on the ChosunBiz MoneyMove site.
Allegations have been raised that the forces that boosted the stock price of Seongji Construction, tied to Lee Jae-myung thematic stock during the 19th presidential election in 2017, have now caused the stock price of Sangji Construction to surge. An individual who was an investor in Seongji Construction at the time is currently an executive at Sangji Construction, and it has been confirmed that some of the current shareholders of Sangji Construction include investment firms that participated as financial investors (FI) in Seongji Construction.
Some investors in Sangji Construction have been previously convicted on charges of being corporate raiders. (Related article☞‘Lee Jae-myung theme’ predicted a big hit with Sangji Construction CB... There are also corporate raiders on the investor list).
A, who is familiar with the situation at Sangji Construction, claimed, “Individuals such as Hwang, Hong, and Wi, who inflated the stock price of Seongji Construction eight years ago, are also involved in this surge of Sangji Construction.”
On the 14th, according to a compilation of the Financial Supervisory Service's electronic disclosure system and anonymous tips, some investors and officials related to Seongji Construction, which was linked to Lee Jae-myung's thematic stock in 2017, are currently active as shareholders and executives at Sangji Construction.
Seongji Construction, which was listed on the KOSPI, was included as a political thematic stock when it appointed Kim as a director in January that year, just over a month before the Democratic Party's primary for the presidential election. Seongji Construction subsequently suffered losses due to the embezzlement of capital by the uncapitalized acquisition and merger (M&A) forces of Optimus Asset Management and was delisted in 2018.
A stated, “The individuals who effectively controlled Seongji Construction at that time intentionally recruited Kim to make Seongji Construction a political thematic stock,” and added, “There was also a loan shark who made significant profits by lending money for the acquisition of Seongji Construction and disposing of shares received as collateral.”
The ‘actual controllers’ mentioned by A appeared a month before Seongji Construction recruited Kim. DAEWON, the major shareholder of Seongji Construction, signed a management transfer agreement with Ivy Farm Holdings, contingent on changing the largest shareholder in May 2016. Ivy Farm Holdings became the largest shareholder by securing 40% of Seongji Construction shares in July that year.
At that time, financial investors, including SSI Partners (now Kyle Room Partners) and Gemini Investments, participated in the acquisition of Seongji Construction. They each purchased about 5% of the equity to support Ivy Farm Holdings' acquisition of Seongji Construction's management rights. These financial investors reappear at Sangji Construction eight years later. However, they changed their company name to avoid being recognized from the outside. SSI Partners changed its name to Kyle Room Partners, which has since become one of the shareholders of Sangji Construction. Additionally, individuals such as Song and Ko, who were executives at Gemini Investments, are currently serving as executives at Sangji Construction.
ChosunBiz reached out to confirm Sangji Construction's position. However, a representative from Sangji Construction stated, “The relevant executive is currently unavailable and cannot respond to related inquiries.” However, it was communicated that Kyle Room Partners is “not currently a major shareholder at Sangji Construction.”
Later, Sangji Construction stated in a statement, “While there was a fact that an executive of ours worked at Gemini Investments, that executive was not employed there at the time of the investment decision made by Gemini Investments and withdrew the investment after being appointed as an executive.”
It was also mentioned regarding Kyle Room Partners, “It was a convertible bond investor that corresponded to 3% when converted to equity,” while stating, “It has never been a shareholder of Sangji Construction and is not a major shareholder now.”
The stock price of Sangji Construction has surged 14 times from 3,165 won at the closing price on April 1 this year to 41,850 won (closing price on May 14) in just over a month. Those benefiting from the surge in stock prices include existing investors in Sangji Construction and those who recently purchased the convertible bonds (CB). One of the four firms that acquired Sangji Construction CB includes an individual who has been punished for past corporate raiding charges.
The individual mentioned is Wi, who is said to have also been involved in M&As of KOSDAQ companies and stock price surges along with Hong and Hwang in the past, according to informant A.
There are claims that one of the remaining three firms that acquired Sangji Construction CB also employs an individual related to Seongji Construction in the past. A stated, “The brother-in-law of the loan shark who lent money to Ivy Farm Holdings when it acquired Seongji Construction works at the investment firm that received Sangji Construction CB,” and added, “Individuals who were involved in making Seongji Construction a thematic stock have reappeared to acquire the CB.”
Meanwhile, the CB amount, which accounts for 60% of the total shares issued by Sangji Construction, will be listed on the 22nd. They can take profits on the 20th, when short-selling is possible.