Lee Jae-myung Disposes of Controversial Defense Industry Shares in Shipbuilding Stocks... "To Dispel Unnecessary Misunderstandings"

"Decision Unrelated to Blank Trust Review Process"
"Complete Sale on the Morning of the 13th"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, has sold all shares of Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering and Hyundai Heavy Industries, which had been controversial. As a member of the National Assembly's Defense Committee, Lee faced criticism that holding stocks in defense industry companies posed a conflict of interest, prompting this action.

On the 13th, the Democratic Party sent a text message to reporters stating, "Leader Lee sold all shares of stocks related to the defense industry this morning," and explained, "Regardless of the blank trust review process requested from the National Assembly, this decision was made to dispel unnecessary misunderstandings related to his committee activities."

There was controversy over whether Lee holding stocks in Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering, which falls under the jurisdiction of the Defense Committee, constituted a conflict of interest. Lee initially explained, "These shares were held before deciding to run in the by-election and are unrelated to my activities in the Defense Committee," and added, "To dispel unnecessary misunderstandings, I requested a review of the blank trust at the National Assembly on August 30."

It appears that Lee decided to sell the shares to eliminate related controversies without waiting for the blank trust review results. To this end, he reportedly sold 1,670 shares of Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering and 690 shares of Hyundai Heavy Industries. During this process, it is known that Lee incurred a loss of about 15%.

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