Court Grants Bail to Former Deutsche Motors Chairman Kwon Oh-soo in Stock Manipulation Case

Kwon Oh-su, Former Chairman of Deutsch Motors / Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] Kwon Osu, former chairman of Deutsche Motors (63), who was indicted and detained in connection with a stock price manipulation case involving Kim Gunhee, wife of President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol, will face trial while out on bail.

According to the legal community on the 13th, the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 23 (Chief Judge Jo Byeong-gu) accepted Kwon's bail application. Previously, Kwon applied for bail on the 25th of last month, claiming innocence.

Regarding this, the court stated, "The defendant is disputing the charges, and the prosecution has requested 60 to 70 witnesses," adding, "It is difficult to complete the trial within the detention period."

Kwon was indicted and detained on charges of using 157 accounts under 91 names, including current and former securities company executives and employees, to manipulate Deutsche Motors' stock price from 2009 to 2012.

The prosecution believes that after Deutsche Motors' backdoor listing at the end of 2008 and the subsequent continuous decline in stock price, Kwon, facing demands from investors to boost the stock price, commissioned Lee Mo, known as a key player in stock price manipulation in the securities industry, to plan the manipulation.

Lee requested stock supply and demand from Kim Mo, an executive at a securities company, who, along with fellow securities employees and operators of 'boutique' investment advisory firms, conducted collusive trading and high-price purchases to manipulate the market, raising the stock price from the high 2,000 won range to about 8,000 won, according to investigations.

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