Two Former ShillaJen Executives Indicted and Detained for Insider Trading Using Non-Public Information

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chun-han] Former executives of the bio company Sillajen, suspected of trading stocks using undisclosed information, were indicted on the 4th.

The Financial Investigation Division 1 of the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Seo Jeong-sik) announced that they have arrested and indicted former CEO Lee Yong-han (54) and former auditor Kwak Byung-hak (56) on charges of violating the Capital Markets Act (fraudulent unfair trading) and the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes (breach of trust), among others.

They are accused of using internal company information to sell a large volume of stocks before the announcement of the clinical trial suspension of Sillajen's immuno-oncology drug candidate 'Pexa-Vec,' thereby gaining an unfair profit of approximately 192.8 billion KRW.

The prosecution has identified that they secured company shares by acquiring new shares with warrants worth about 35 billion KRW through a paper company without paying the purchase price.

Sillajen's stock price once soared due to expectations for Pexa-Vec's development but plummeted after the clinical trial suspension was disclosed.

They are also accused of causing the company a loss of about 2.9 billion KRW by purchasing patents related to new drug development at an inflated price.

Lee, the former CEO, served as CEO from 2008 to 2009, and Kwak, a relative of current CEO Moon Eun-sang (55), served as auditor and inside director from 2012 to 2016. They were detained on the 17th of last month.

The prosecution has been investigating since raiding Sillajen in August last year. Recently, CEO Moon Eun-sang was also summoned and investigated as a suspect.

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