President Lee Criticizes 'Stock Price Suppression' Reports: "This Is Stock Price Manipulation"

President Lee Jae-myung on June 8 criticized recent reports addressing the so-called 'stock price suppression' allegations, stating, "Isn't this essentially stock price manipulation?"

On this day, President Lee posted on his X (formerly Twitter) account, sharing The Asia Business Daily's article titled "'Why Are My Stocks the Only Ones Not Rising?' There Was a Reason... Government Mocked by 'Stock Price Suppression' Allegations," and commented as above.

President Lee Jae-myung is seated after completing the national anthem at the senior secretaries meeting held at the Blue House on June 4, 2026. Photo by Yonhap News

According to the report, KOSDAQ-listed company Intops issued exchangeable bonds (EB) with a call option that prevents the stock price from rising. The article also analyzed that if the stock price rises above a certain level, Intops can redeem the exchangeable bonds by paying only 0.1% interest, which increases the incentive for short selling as the stock price rises.

A representative from Intops explained, "In the case of call options, they are customarily granted so that institutional investors can quickly realize profits and exit if the stock price rises to a certain extent," adding, "The issuance of exchangeable bonds is merely a legitimate means of raising capital for corporate investment, and we have had no involvement whatsoever in short selling or related activities."

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