The prosecution is launching a re-investigation into the stock manipulation case involving Kim Keon-hee, the wife of former President Yoon Seok-youl, related to Deutsch Motors.
On the 25th, the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office stated in a notice sent to reporters, "It has decided to reopen the investigation into Kim Keon-hee's violation of the Capital Markets Act." The investigation will be handled by the criminal division of the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office. This comes six months after the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office's Anti-Corruption 2 Division issued a non-indictment ruling on Kim's alleged violation of the Capital Markets Act on Oct. 17 last year.
The Deutsch Motors stock manipulation case involves Kwon Oh-soo, the former chairman who was the largest shareholder and CEO of Deutsch Motors, illegally trading 15.99 million shares (worth 63.6 billion won) in collusion with 13 other individuals, including current and former executives of securities firms, using 157 accounts from 2009 to 2012. In this case, Kwon was sentenced to three years in prison, suspended for four years.
However, during the prosecution's investigation and the proceedings of the first and second trials, it was revealed that six securities accounts in Kim's name were used in the stock manipulation. In response, former Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Choi Kang-wook submitted a complaint to the prosecution in April 2020, requesting an investigation into whether Kim conspired in the stock manipulation. This investigation began while Lee Seong-yun was the prosecutor general of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, but it did not reach a conclusion until the terms of former prosecutors Lee Jeong-soo and Song Kyung-ho expired.
Then, five months after the appointment of current Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office chief Lee Chang-soo, on Oct. 17 last year, the Anti-Corruption Investigation 2 Division (Chief Prosecutor Choi Jae-hoon) issued a non-indictment ruling regarding Kim's violations of the Capital Markets Act. The prosecution stated that it was difficult to acknowledge that Kim conspired with the main culprits or engaged in the crimes by managing accounts or placing stock trading orders while being aware of or foreseeing their stock price manipulation.
In this regard, former lawmaker Choi filed an appeal against the prosecution's ruling. An appeal is a procedure in which the complainant seeks the judgment of a higher authority, the High Prosecutors' Office, against the non-indictment decision made by the district prosecutor's office. This time, the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office accepted Choi's appeal and decided to reopen the investigation into Kim's involvement in the stock manipulation case involving Deutsch Motors.
A legal professional noted, "It is noteworthy that the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office decided to conduct the re-investigation directly without ordering the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, which previously issued a non-indictment against Kim."
Meanwhile, the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office dismissed the appeal regarding Kim's violation of the Improper Solicitation Act related to receiving luxury bags. This case became controversial when Korean-American pastor Choi Jae-young filmed and uploaded a scene of giving Kim cosmetics worth 1.8 million won and luxury bags worth 3 million won between June and September 2022 to YouTube. In October last year, the Criminal 1 Division of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (Director General Kim Seung-ho) issued a non-indictment ruling regarding Kim's violation of the Improper Solicitation Act.