Dispute Over Timing of BRV's 50 Billion Won Investment Decision in Mezzion

Published 10 Sep.2025 15:42(KST)

Koo Yeonkyung of LG and Yoon Kwan of BRV
Third Hearing on Capital Markets Act Violation
Suspicion of Stock Accumulation After Investment Decision

During the trial of Koo Yeonkyung, head of the LG Welfare Foundation, and her husband Yoon Kwan, head of BlueRun Ventures (BRV), there was a dispute over when BRV decided to invest in the bio company Mezzion's paid-in capital increase. On September 9, the 13th Criminal Division of the Seoul Southern District Court (Presiding Judge Kim Sangyeon) held the third hearing on the couple's alleged violation of the Capital Markets Act (Case No. 2025GoHap56).

Following the second hearing, Choi Beomjin, CEO of Clover Investment, was cross-examined as a witness at the third hearing. He is an investment expert who has worked at various financial institutions and previously served as Vice President at BRV Korea.

Prosecutors and Yoon's defense attorney focused their questioning on whether BRV had decided to invest 50 billion won in Mezzion's paid-in capital increase as of April 11, 2023. This date is significant because, on the following day, April 12, Koo purchased 35,990 shares of Mezzion, worth approximately 649.92 million won. Prosecutors suspect that Koo accumulated the shares after hearing about BRV's investment decision from Yoon.

The prosecution asked, "Wasn't the major investment (50 billion won) already decided?" implying that BRV had effectively made its investment decision by April 11, 2023. Yoon's side countered that "various issues, including tag-along rights and prior consent rights, had not yet been agreed upon."

Caught between the prosecution and Yoon, Choi testified that "although the difficult issue of the investment amount was agreed upon, not all investment decisions had been finalized."

In response, the prosecution brought up a dinner meeting between Yoon and Park Donghyun, CEO of Mezzion, on April 13, 2023. They suggested that the meeting was not for negotiating investment terms, but rather to share the news of the investment decision. Choi also stated, "I don't think the two CEOs would have met without updated investment information."

In January of this year, prosecutors indicted Koo and her husband without detention, alleging that they used undisclosed material information for investment purposes. Article 174 of the Capital Markets Act strictly prohibits company executives, shareholders, licensing authorities, and contract parties from purchasing securities or derivatives based on undisclosed material information.