John Lee, CEO of Meritz Asset Management, Finally Submits Resignation Letter

Meritz Financial Group Likely to Accept Resignation Letter

John Lee, CEO of Meritz Asset Management. Photo by Dongju Yoon doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Yoon-joo] John Lee, CEO of Meritz Asset Management, who is under suspicion of illegal investment, has submitted his resignation.

On the 28th, Meritz Financial Group stated, "John Lee, CEO of Meritz Asset Management, voluntarily submitted his resignation."

It is interpreted that he felt burdened as various suspicions arose following the Financial Supervisory Service's investigation into illegal investment allegations and thus submitted his resignation. John Lee was appointed in 2014 and successfully secured a third term in early 2021. He announced his intention to resign ahead of the expiration of his term in March 2023. Although Meritz Financial Group is refraining from commenting, it is expected that they will accept the resignation since John Lee voluntarily submitted it.

Earlier, the Financial Supervisory Service conducted an unscheduled inspection of Meritz Asset Management's real estate-related online investment-linked finance (P2P) private funds. It is known that the Financial Supervisory Service launched the inspection after receiving a tip that John Lee invested in shares of P Company, a real estate-related P2P firm established by an acquaintance in 2016, under his wife's name.

The key issues are whether John Lee made a nominee investment in P Company's shares using his spouse's name, and whether there were any violations of the Capital Markets Act such as related-party transactions during the operation of the P2P private funds. John Lee's wife invested 200 million KRW out of P Company's 3 billion KRW capital in 2016, holding a 6.57% stake.

In the financial sector, even if John Lee did not violate the Capital Markets Act, it is highly expected that he may face sanctions from the Financial Supervisory Service due to internal control issues.

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