'55-Day Fugitive' Sambu Stock Manipulation Suspect Lee Kihun Detained... Special Prosecutor to Accelerate Probe into Kim Keonhee Connection

Court Issues Warrant Citing "Risk of Evidence Destruction and Flight"
Investigation into 'Wellbiotec Stock Manipulation Allegations' Gains Momentum

Lee Kihun, Vice Chairman of Sambu Construction and Chairman of Wellbiotec, who had fled to avoid investigation by Special Prosecutor Min Joongki's team regarding allegations related to First Lady Kim Keonhee, was arrested on September 12, 55 days after going on the run, and has now been detained.

Yonhap News

On the same day, Lee Jeongjae, the judge in charge of warrants at the Seoul Central District Court, issued an arrest warrant for Vice Chairman Lee after a substantive warrant review, on charges of violating the Capital Markets Act. Judge Lee stated, "There is concern that evidence may be destroyed and that he may attempt to flee."

The special prosecutor's team identified Vice Chairman Lee as a key figure in the stock price manipulation of Sambu Construction and requested an arrest warrant in July. However, he did not appear for the substantive warrant review and went into hiding. After fleeing, Lee evaded authorities in Gapyeong, Gyeonggi Province; Mokpo, South Jeolla Province; and Uljin, North Gyeongsang Province. Since last month, he had been staying at a villa in Mokpo, where he was apprehended by the special prosecutor's team the previous day.

Amid expectations that the likelihood of an arrest warrant being issued was high due to his history of fleeing, Vice Chairman Lee chose not to attend his second substantive warrant review and did not appear in court on this day.

Vice Chairman Lee is accused of participating in the stock price manipulation of Sambu Construction from May to September 2023, obtaining illicit profits amounting to several tens of billions of won.

The special prosecutor's team believes that Sambu Construction deceived investors by distributing press releases in May 2023, claiming to have signed various business agreements with local governments in Poland during the Ukraine Reconstruction Forum, thereby creating the appearance that it would pursue reconstruction projects. Classified as a Ukraine reconstruction stock, Sambu Construction's share price, which was in the 1,000-won range in May 2023, surged to as high as 5,500 won during trading two months later.

The special prosecutor's team has also gained momentum in its investigation into allegations of stock price manipulation led by Lee at Wellbiotec. Wellbiotec is suspected of manipulating its share price by misleading investors into believing it would participate in the Ukraine reconstruction project alongside Sambu Construction in May 2023. The special prosecutor's team has regarded Lee as the link connecting Sambu Construction and Wellbiotec and has been investigating accordingly.

Now that Lee is in custody, the investigation into stock price manipulation at Wellbiotec, led by him, is expected to accelerate, as is the effort to uncover any connection to First Lady Kim Keonhee.

Previously, it was revealed that Lee Jongho, former CEO of Black Pearl Invest and an associate of the First Lady, left a message in a group messenger chatroom saying "Sambu check tomorrow" just before the sharp rise in Sambu Construction's stock price, raising the possibility of the First Lady's involvement in stock price manipulation. Lee Jongho was responsible for managing the First Lady's account in the Deutsche Motors stock manipulation case. However, as the special prosecutor's team failed to find additional evidence, Lee Jongho was only indicted on charges of violating the Attorney-at-Law Act.