'Ostem Implant Embezzlement' Victimized Shareholders File Lawsuit Against Company and Executives

Lee, who is accused of embezzling company funds from Osstem Implant, is being transferred from Seoul Gangseo Police Station to the prosecution on the 14th. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] Shareholders of Osstem Implant, where a large-scale embezzlement incident occurred, have filed a lawsuit against the company and its executives.

At 11 a.m. on the 26th, Um Taeseop, a lawyer from the law firm Okims representing the shareholders affected by the Osstem Implant embezzlement incident, stated, "We are filing a lawsuit holding Osstem Implant, its executives, and major shareholders liable under the Capital Markets Act, and holding the accounting firm liable under the External Audit Act."

Lawyer Um explained the background of filing the complaint, saying, "Regardless of the conclusion reached in the Korea Exchange's delisting suitability review, the damage caused to minority shareholders due to the stock price decline is inevitable." Twenty-six plaintiffs were listed in the complaint filed that day, and Lawyer Um mentioned that the number of victims participating in the lawsuit may increase depending on the investigation results.

The day before, the Korea Exchange announced that it had extended the deadline for deciding whether Osstem Implant is subject to the delisting suitability review until the 17th of next month. Considering the need for additional investigation, the investigation period was extended by 15 business days.

Osstem Implant announced on the 3rd that it had filed a complaint against employee Lee, who managed funds, on charges of embezzlement in the course of duty, which triggered the delisting suitability review and led to a trading suspension. Along with the embezzlement case involving former management, the occurrence of an embezzlement case involving an employee involving approximately 200 billion KRW revealed inadequate internal controls and continued accounting irregularity controversies.

The Korea Exchange plans to decide by the 17th of next month whether Osstem Implant is subject to the delisting suitability review and will notify whether the trading suspension will continue or be lifted. If it is decided to be subject to the delisting suitability review, the trading suspension will be maintained, and the Korea Exchange will decide on delisting or granting an improvement period through the deliberation and resolution of the Corporate Evaluation Committee.

However, even if the Korea Exchange grants an improvement period to Osstem Implant, it is highly likely that the trading suspension will be maintained during that period. Even if Osstem Implant is excluded from the delisting suitability review and the trading suspension is lifted, the stock price is expected to fall sharply due to the disclosure of the large-scale embezzlement.

As of the end of 2020, Osstem Implant's minority shareholders numbered 19,856, holding about 55.6% (7.94 million shares) of the total issued shares of approximately 14.29 million shares.

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