Prosecutors Summon Chorokbaem Group Chairman Over Alleged Involvement in Kang Jong-hyun Stock Manipulation Case

Won Young-sik (62), chairman of Chorokbaem Group, who is suspected of being involved in stock price manipulation linked to Kang Jong-hyun (41), known as the actual owner of the cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb, was investigated by the prosecution.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 14th, the Financial Investigation Division 2 of the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Chae Hee-man) booked Chairman Won as a suspect on charges of fraudulent unfair trading under the Capital Markets Act and summoned him twice for questioning earlier this month.

Chorokbaem Group, the largest shareholder of entertainment company Chorokbaem Media, reportedly earned profits by investing more than 100 billion KRW in convertible bonds (CB) issued by Vidente, the largest shareholder of Bithumb, and Bucket Studio, an affiliate of Bithumb. Kang is known as the actual owner of Bithumb.

The prosecution is investigating the facts, considering the possibility that Chairman Won was involved in Kang's stock price manipulation by investing large sums in Bithumb affiliates. Last month, Chorokbaem Media, located in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, was raided.

Kang is accused of spreading favorable information after issuing CBs at a Bithumb affiliate in 2021 to inflate stock prices and gain illicit profits of 35 billion KRW (fraudulent unfair trading under the Capital Markets Act), transferring call options to repurchase the CBs at a low price causing damages of 32 billion KRW (breach of trust), and embezzling 62.8 billion KRW from a Bithumb affiliate (embezzlement).

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