President Lee Jaemyung: "Total Ruin for Stock Manipulation... Even Principal Will Be Confiscated"

President Lee Jaemyung stated at a press conference marking his 100th day in office on September 11, "We will make it clear that those who manipulate stock prices will face total ruin," adding, "We will confiscate not only the profits but also the principal invested."

Yonhap News Agency

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At the press conference held at the Blue House State Guest House that day, President Lee emphasized that in order to revitalize the capital market, "We must minimize distrust in the domestic stock market."

He specifically said, "Currently, only the profits gained from stock price manipulation are confiscated, but I have instructed that the entire principal invested in stock price manipulation should also be seized and applied in all cases,"warning, "To all those who manipulate stock prices watching this broadcast, be careful from now on. Do not do it."

These remarks were made in response to a question about his thoughts on using the National Pension Fund and other funds to normalize the domestic stock market, which led him to address the issue of distrust in the domestic stock market.

President Lee said, "I have also asked why domestic pension funds have such a low proportion of domestic stock investments and why they only buy foreign stocks," noting, "They said that due to demographic changes, the pension balance will soon start to decrease." However, he added, "If domestic stocks are sold when expenditures exceed income, it could cause a market crash, but that is something that may happen in 30 years," expressing his skepticism by saying, "In that case, wouldn't stock prices rise before then?"

He went on to say, "I believe this is due to distrust in the domestic stock market," and mentioned plans to strengthen transparency in the stock market. He continued, "The system for detecting stock price manipulation is also being well established," and added, "A joint investigation task force has been created to monitor in real time and ensure swift punishment when violations are found."

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