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Photo: NH Investment & Securities |
[Alpha Biz= Kim Jisun] South Korea’s financial authorities have referred an executive of NH Investment & Securities, along with their spouse and associates, to prosecutors over alleged insider trading involving non-public information.
The Securities and Futures Commission under the Financial Services Commission announced on May 20 that eight individuals have been charged with violating the Capital Markets Act.
According to the findings, the group used undisclosed information—such as planned tender offers—obtained during the course of business between May 2023 and September 2025. They allegedly accumulated shares in 15 listed companies before the information became public and sold them afterward for illicit gains.
Authorities also identified a second and third tier of information recipients who traded on the leaked data, buying shares at low prices and selling after public disclosures drove up stock prices, further disrupting market order.
The SFC has imposed the maximum statutory penalties on these secondary and tertiary participants. Fines are set at up to 1.5 times the illicit gains for second-tier recipients and 1.25 times for third-tier recipients.
Investigators found that the primary suspects used nominee accounts under acquaintances’ names to conceal their activities, with even the executive’s spouse replicating the scheme through additional borrowed accounts. The executive involved has since been dismissed.
The case marks the second major action by the government’s joint task force on stock manipulation, which has employed asset tracking and search-and-seizure operations to uncover the network.
Authorities emphasized that the crackdown aims to send a strong deterrent message to the market, warning that insider trading will face severe legal and financial consequences, including potential penalties of up to twice the illicit profits depending on the outcome of the prosecution.
Alphabiz Reporter Kim Jisun(stockmk2020@alphabiz.co.kr)
