'Insider Trading' Former ShillaJen CEO and 2 Others' Detention Hearing Postponed to 16th

Warrant Hearing for Lee Yong-han and Kwak Byung-han Scheduled on 13th
Prosecutors: "Postponed to 16th at Defense's Request"

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Byung-don] The pre-trial detention hearing (warrant substantive examination) for former CEO and executives of the bio venture company Sillajen, who are accused of stock trading using undisclosed information, has been postponed to the 16th.

According to the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office, the warrant substantive examination for former CEO Lee Yong-han (56) and former inside director Kwak Byung-hak (56), which was scheduled for the morning of the 13th, has been postponed to the 16th. A prosecution official explained, "The court accepted the defense counsel's request, resulting in the extension of the examination period."

Former CEO Lee served as CEO from 2008 to 2009, and former auditor Kwak, a relative of current CEO Moon Eun-sang (55), served as auditor and inside director of the company from 2012 to 2016.

They are accused of selling stocks and avoiding losses by using internal company information before the public disclosure of the suspension of clinical trials for Sillajen's anticancer drug candidate, Pexa-Vec.

The prosecution has accelerated the investigation by conducting a search and seizure of Sillajen in August last year and recently requesting arrest warrants for two executives. Sillajen rapidly grew to become the second largest KOSDAQ market capitalization within a year and a half of listing, fueled by expectations for the anticancer drug candidate Pexa-Vec.

However, on August 2, 2019, the global clinical trial effectively failed, causing the stock price to plummet. At that time, some executives sold their stocks in advance to avoid losses. Meanwhile, approximately 150,000 small shareholders bore the full brunt of the damage.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.