Rhyme Scandal 'Mastermind' Lee Jong-pil Arrested and Indicted... Prosecutors "Ongoing Investigation of Additional Charges"

Victims of Lime Asset Management funds held a press conference on the 21st in front of the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office in Yangcheon-gu, Seoul, urging the prosecution to conduct a prompt investigation. The victims filed a complaint with the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office against the head of Daishin Securities Banpo WM Center on charges including fraud under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes and fraudulent trading under the Capital Markets Act. Photo by Yoon Dong-ju doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Byung-don] Former Lime Asset Management Vice President Lee Jong-pil and former Shinhan Financial Team Leader Shim, key figures in the Lime Asset Management scandal involving a redemption suspension of about 1.6 trillion KRW, have been indicted.

The Criminal Division 6 of Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Jo Sang-won) announced on the 12th that former Vice President Lee was arrested and indicted on charges of violating the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes (including bribery) and the Capital Markets Act. Former Team Leader Shim, who participated in Lee's crimes, was also arrested and indicted on the same charges.

Lee is accused of investing 30 billion KRW of Lime's funds into the KOSDAQ-listed company 'Lead' and receiving about 1.4 billion KRW worth of valuables such as luxury watches and imported cars from the company's management. He is also charged with using insider information to sell stocks of a listed company held by Lime funds before a negative disclosure, avoiding losses worth about 1.1 billion KRW.

Shim, who was indicted on the same day, is accused of investing 5 billion KRW of Shinhan Financial Investment funds into Lead and receiving luxury watches, bags, and imported cars worth about 74 million KRW. He is also charged with extorting 165 million KRW as a bribe for investing in another listed company.

However, the charges applied to Lee in the indictment appear to cover only part of the suspicions raised.

Lee was identified as the 'mastermind' of the incident by designing and managing Lime Asset Management funds. He is suspected of being involved in various crimes, including the Ponzi scheme of Lime Asset Management's fund returns, sales fraud targeting investors by each fund distributor, and embezzlement of company funds by a corporate raider group targeting listed companies funded by Lime.

The prosecution stated, "We will continue to investigate additional charges against them even after the indictment."

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