Defendants in 'Juga Manipulation' Cases Facing Imminent Release Amid Trial Delays

Key defendants are about to be released one after another at the Seoul Southern District Court, where major financial and securities crime cases such as stock price manipulation, embezzlement, and breach of trust are concentrated. The trials are delayed due to the complexity of the cases, numerous disputes over the charges, and various procedural reasons. As the maximum detention period for the first trial in criminal cases (6 months) approaches, the number of cases where bail applications are granted is also increasing.

According to the legal community on the 8th, Ra Deok-yeon, a key defendant in the Societe Generale (SG) Securities stock price crash incident, will reach a full one-year detention period in May. He was detained on May 26 last year and, after two extensions of the detention period, applied for bail as the 6-month detention period was nearing, but it was rejected. Ra is a key defendant in the largest-ever stock price manipulation crime, with an identified crime period of about three years and an illegal profit amounting to a total of 730.5 billion KRW. Due to the vast amount of investigation, the prosecution's investigation continued even while the first trial was ongoing, and an additional arrest warrant was issued in November last year, extending the detention period by 6 months. Nevertheless, the first trial is still ongoing, and in two months, the detention period will expire again. Ra’s side may apply for bail once more, and the court is in a difficult position as issuing an arrest warrant three times is very unusual.

Lee Hee-jin and Lee Hee-moon, the so-called 'Cheongdam-dong stock wealthy brothers,' who were detained and brought to trial on charges of manipulating the price of Pica Coin, have also currently applied for bail. The Lee brothers were detained on September 17 last year, and since their detention period will expire on the 17th of this month, the court must soon decide whether to release them. Other defendants who were indicted and detained along with the Lee brothers have already been released and are standing trial without detention.

Even if criminal defendants are released on bail, strict conditions such as a certain amount of deposit, prohibition of contact with witnesses and reference persons, and residence restrictions are imposed. However, it is practically difficult to completely prevent illegal acts by released defendants. Kang Jong-hyun, who was detained for stock price manipulation involving Bithumb, a cryptocurrency exchange affiliate, was released on bail in December last year after about 10 months of detention. While on trial without detention, it was revealed that Kang’s side had contacted witnesses scheduled to appear in court in advance. On the 27th of last month, Kim, a high school classmate of Kang who appeared as a witness at Kang’s 'coin listing bribery' trial, testified that Kang had made several phone calls after being released on bail and that Kang’s defense attorney had met the witness directly. The court strongly reprimanded, saying, "It is completely incomprehensible that the defendant and the witness communicated after bail, and that the defense attorney met the witness." The court also warned the witness, saying, "It can only be seen as prior coordination of testimony," and "Meeting with the defendant or defense attorney is a very dangerous act."

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