Prosecutors Seek Arrest Warrant for Kwon Oh-soo, Chairman of Deutsche Motors, in Stock Manipulation Case... Hearing on 16th (Comprehensive)

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] The prosecution investigating allegations of stock price manipulation and breach of trust involving Deutsch Motors has moved to secure the custody of the key figure, Kwon Oh-soo, chairman of Deutsch Motors.

The Anti-Corruption and Strong Investigation Division 2 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Jo Ju-yeon) filed a pre-arrest warrant for Chairman Kwon on the 12th on charges of violating the Capital Markets Act related to stock price manipulation of a listed company.

Chairman Kwon, as the largest shareholder and CEO of Deutsch Motors, is suspected of leaking internal company information to boost the stock price and manipulating the stock price to prevent it from falling.

He is under investigation for informing associates of favorable internal company information such as entry into foreign car after-sales service business, joint ventures for online sales of used parts, and attracting overseas private equity investments, thereby inducing stock trading, and then placing fictitious buy orders through accounts he directly managed to inflate the stock price.

Chairman Kwon is also suspected of mobilizing external forces as 'players' to create stronger buying pressure. The prosecution believes Kwon contacted securities firms and investment advisory firms to provide various favorable internal information and requested them to support stock price boosting or management.

The prosecution has identified that from December 2009 for about three years, Kwon and others directly purchased approximately 15.99 million shares of Deutsch Motors stock (worth about 63.6 billion KRW) or induced customers to buy through illegal means.

This allegation has attracted public attention as Kim Gun-hee, wife of Yoon Seok-youl, the presidential candidate of the People Power Party, is reportedly involved as a 'jeonju' (broker). If Chairman Kwon is detained, the prosecution is likely to accelerate the investigation into Kim as well.

The decision on Chairman Kwon’s detention will be made following a pre-arrest suspect hearing (warrant substantive examination) presided over by Judge Lee Se-chang, who is in charge of warrants at the Seoul Central District Court, at 10:30 a.m. on the 16th. The results are expected late that afternoon or early the next morning.

The prosecution plans to secure Chairman Kwon’s custody and continue investigating additional charges such as embezzlement and breach of trust.

In legal circles, there is speculation that after Chairman Kwon’s detention, the investigation may expand to include Kim Gun-hee, wife of People Power Party presidential candidate Yoon Seok-youl, who is suspected of playing the role of 'jeonju' in the stock price manipulation process. There are ongoing rumors that Kim’s summons is imminent.

However, it is known that Kim’s involvement has not been included in the charges against those indicted so far or in the criminal facts of Chairman Kwon’s arrest warrant.

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