KSD Faces Possible 'Optimus' Accountability Questions at National Assembly Audit

Assemblyman Kang Min-guk "Korea Securities Depository pointed out change from private bonds to public bonds"

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Ju-yeon] The Korea Securities Depository (KSD) is expected to face questions regarding responsibility for the recent controversy over the redemption suspension of 'Optimus Asset Management' at the National Assembly's Political Affairs Committee audit scheduled for the 20th.

On this day, Kang Min-guk, a member of the People Power Party belonging to the National Assembly's Political Affairs Committee, pointed out that KSD changed private bonds of non-listed companies with no substance into stable public institution accounts receivable at the request of Optimus Asset Management.

From April 11, 2016, to May 21 of this year, private bonds of non-listed companies such as Rafique, CPNS, and Daebu DK AMC were renamed as accounts receivable from Busan Port Authority and Korea Land & Housing Corporation and recorded in the asset statement.

During this process, there was a request from the Optimus side, and despite an email from Optimus to KSD attaching the 'Private Bond Underwriting Agreement,' KSD did not conduct even minimal verification, according to Representative Kang's explanation.

This criticism was a subject of dispute when the Optimus incident first emerged in April.

At that time, KSD explained through a press release, "Optimus submitted an investment plan and requested that the asset item name be designated as 'public institution accounts receivable.' Upon confirmation, the private bonds were effectively secured by public institution accounts receivable and had a layered structure, so the content was entered as requested by Optimus."

They also emphasized that the item name entered at that time was simply the one initially designated by the asset management company for the creation of the item code and was not a change of the existing item name.

Regarding responsibility, KSD drew a clear line on its role as an administrative management company. Unlike trustees who protect beneficiaries and manage trust assets, KSD is a 'general administrative management company' handling delegated tasks such as product base price calculation and does not have the obligation or authority to compare actual managed assets with base price calculation assets.

It is expected that questions focusing on these points will arise again during this audit.

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