Prosecutors Raid Rainbow Robotics Headquarters Over Alleged Insider Trading

Financial News reported that prosecutors have launched a compulsory investigation into allegations that executives and employees of robot specialist Rainbow Robotics traded shares using non-public information during the process of the company becoming a subsidiary of Samsung Electronics.
According to legal sources on the 18th, the Joint Financial and Securities Crime Investigation Unit of the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors’ Office, led by chief prosecutor Shin Dong-hwan, has dispatched investigators to Rainbow Robotics’ headquarters in Yuseong District, Daejeon, to conduct a search and seizure.
The search targets reportedly include the homes of former and current Rainbow Robotics executives and employees, as well as Samsung Electronics business sites.
Earlier, the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) under the Financial Services Commission filed a criminal complaint with prosecutors last month against two of 16 former and current Rainbow Robotics executives and employees on suspicion of violating the Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act, and requested an investigation into the remaining 14.
Rainbow Robotics’ current Chief Executive Officer (CEO), identified only by the surname Lee, and former Chief Financial Officer (CFO), identified as Bang, are also said to be among those under investigation.
They are suspected of using non-public information during Samsung Electronics’ acquisition of Rainbow Robotics shares between 2022 and 2024, allegedly gaining illicit profits estimated at 3 to 4 billion won.
Rainbow Robotics is a robot company founded by researchers from KAIST (Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology) who developed HUBO, the first bipedal humanoid robot in Korea. After it was acquired by Samsung Electronics last year, the company’s valuation rose sharply. Its share price, which started at 10,000 won at the time of its KOSDAQ (Korean Securities Dealers Automated Quotations) listing in 2021, recently exceeded 800,000 won.
psh@fnnews.com Reporter Park Sung-hyun Reporter