Investor Referred to Prosecutors for Stock Manipulation, Accused of Illicitly Earning 30 Million Won Through 13 Accounts

An individual investor has been handed over to prosecutors for allegedly artificially inflating the price of a specific stock for over a year using 13 accounts, pocketing approximately 30 million won in illicit profits. Financial authorities confirmed the investor violated the Capital Markets Act by manipulating market prices and notified investigative agencies.

Investor A targeted C Corp. stock, which had low trading volume, and mobilized 13 accounts registered under five individuals, including himself, his family members, and his company B. Investor A's market manipulation took place between March 21, 2017, and April 30, 2018. During this period, with the aim of profiting from C Corp. stock price increases, he submitted a total of 5,042 manipulative orders, covering 1,951,898 shares. Investor A repeatedly bought and sold C Corp. stock, often using funds obtained through stock-backed loans.

Investor A continued his illegal activities despite receiving preventative measures against unfair trading from his brokerage firm. It was also confirmed that he repeatedly switched brokerage firms and used accounts under others' names after receiving eight instances of order rejection warnings.