Police Conduct Written Investigation of Kim Jin-wook, Head of the Corruption Investigation Office, Over Alleged Unfair Acquisition of Bio Stocks

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunseok Yoo] The police investigating the 'bio stock trading suspicion' accusation against Kim Jin-wook, head of the High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Unit (PCC), recently confirmed that they conducted a written investigation of Kim.

On the 24th, according to the police and the office of Jeon Ju-hye, a member of the People Power Party, the Anti-Corruption and Public Crime Investigation Unit of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency conducted a written investigation of Kim as a suspect at the end of last month.

Kim became embroiled in controversy during the January National Assembly confirmation hearing for his appointment, due to holding approximately 100 million KRW worth of stocks in MikrobioMed, a diagnostic kit and equipment manufacturer led by an alumnus who studied in the U.S. with him.

The civic group Speculation Capital Watchdog Center filed a complaint stating, "In 2017, when Kim was working at the Constitutional Court, MikrobioMed participated in a third-party allotment capital increase of Nanobiosys, and Kim acquired the stocks at a price lower than the market value, gaining about 4.76 million KRW in capital gains."

The group argued that Kim's actions violated Article 8 of the Act on the Prohibition of Improper Solicitation and Graft (Improper Solicitation and Graft Act), which prohibits receiving money or valuables exceeding 3 million KRW annually from the same person.

In March 2017, Kim acquired 5,813 shares of Nanobiosys through a third-party allotment capital increase. Five months later, after the company merged with MikrobioMed, he became a shareholder of MikrobioMed. Subsequently, in September last year, he purchased an additional 2,530 shares, holding a total of 8,343 shares.

At the January confirmation hearing, Kim stated that he would dispose of all his shares. However, it is known that he still holds some of the stocks.

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