[Exclusive] Prosecution Summons and Investigates 'SG Incident's First Informant' Suspect

The prosecution recently summoned Kim Mo (43), the initial whistleblower of the Societe Generale (SG) incident, for questioning as a suspect. He was the early business partner of La Deok-yeon, the mastermind behind the stock manipulation group, and was known as the 'second-in-command' within the organization.

According to the legal community on the 5th, the Financial and Securities Crime Joint Investigation Division of the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office called Kim last week for questioning as a suspect. This fact was directly revealed by Kim himself during the prosecution's main questioning when he appeared as a witness at the SG incident trial held the day before. When asked by the prosecutor whether he had recently been questioned as a suspect by the prosecution, Kim replied, "About a week ago." When asked if he was involved in the stock manipulation charges against Mr. La, Kim said, "Yes, I admitted it."

Kim was the first person to report the SG incident, which surfaced in April last year, to the financial authorities. He met La through an acquaintance in 2019 and started a business partnership. The 'R&K Holdings' established around March 2020 for full-scale investment advisory business was named after the initials of La and Kim. They split the shares evenly, 50-50.

Kim, who was La's key business partner and held the position of second-in-command in the organization, said their relationship soured after disputes over the operation of R&K Holdings. However, La's side claimed that Kim had initially lied about his academic background and career and that Kim demanded 10 billion KRW, threatening, "If you don't pay, I will report to the financial authorities." This implies there was a financial motive behind the report to the authorities. In fact, La has filed a complaint with the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office accusing Kim of embezzling 4.8 billion KRW.

Regarding why Kim, a key figure in the SG incident, has not yet been indicted, multiple sources speculate it is because he cooperated with the prosecution as the initial whistleblower to the financial authorities. However, with the recent investigation conducted under suspect status, there is speculation that Kim's indictment is imminent. So far, a total of 56 defendants, including La, have been indicted in connection with the SG incident. Last month, the prosecution also summoned singer Lim Chang-jung (51), who invested about 3 billion KRW in La's organization, for questioning as a suspect. Since the related investigation is still ongoing, the number of indictments is expected to increase in the future.

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