Special Counsel Seeks 1 Year and 6 Months for ‘Deutsche Stock-Rigging Accomplice’... Says “Small Investors Were Harmed”

[Financial News] The Kim Keon Hee special prosecutor team, led by Special Counsel Min Joong-ki, asked the court to hand down a prison sentence for Lee, who has been identified as an accomplice in the Deutsche Motors stock manipulation case.
At a sentencing hearing held on the 24th before Criminal Division 34 of the Seoul Central District Court, presided over by Judge Sung-Jin Han, the special prosecutor team requested a sentence of one year and six months in prison for Lee, who is charged with violating the Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act and other offenses. The team also sought a fine of 40 million won and forfeiture of approximately 13.1 million won.
The special counsel stated, “Because of the price-manipulation scheme, Deutsche Motors’ stock price rose abnormally in a short period of time.” The team added, “Drawn in during that process, many investors suffered enormous losses as the accomplices cashed out their gains.”
The team went on to say, “When market prices are distorted through price manipulation, small investors with relatively modest investment amounts suffer even greater damage,” characterizing the case as “a crime driven by information asymmetry.” They also pointed out that Lee fled when a detention warrant was sought in a separate case and even tried to escape through a window wearing nothing during a search, thereby wasting investigative resources, and argued that this showed the seriousness of his wrongdoing.
By contrast, in his closing argument Lee’s side claimed he did not take part in the so-called first round of stock price manipulation in 2010. His attorney argued, “He is remorseful, but he did not conspire as alleged in the indictment, and we ask the court to examine whether the statute of limitations for the stock manipulation offenses has expired.”
Wearing a khaki prison uniform, Lee said in his final statement, “I vowed never to stand here again, yet here I am once more,” and added, “Whatever the decision, this all happened because of my own wrongdoing.”
Lee is accused of conspiring with former Deutsche Motors chairman Kwon Oh-soo and former Blackpearl Invest head Lee Jong-ho to manipulate Deutsche Motors’ stock price around 2012 and obtaining about 13 million won in illicit gains. However, Lee’s side acknowledges the illicit gains but maintains that he did not conspire in the price-manipulation crime and instead carried out independent trades to make a profit.
The court is scheduled to deliver the first-instance verdict at 10 a.m. on the 25th of next month.
scottchoi15@fnnews.com Choi Eun-sol Reporter