"Stock Price Manipulation Through Articles"... FSS Special Judicial Police Refer 7, Including Former and Current Journalists, for Front-Running

Former and current journalists, along with a certified public accountant, have been referred to the prosecution for manipulating stock prices through news articles.

The Capital Market Special Judicial Police (Special Judicial Police) of the Financial Supervisory Service announced on the 18th that certified public accountant A and current journalist B have been arrested and sent for indictment on charges of violating the Capital Markets Act. Five individuals, including former and current journalists, were sent to the prosecution without detention.

According to the Special Judicial Police, from October 2020 to June last year, A, together with five former and current journalists, made illicit gains of 8.56 billion won through approximately 1,800 instances of stock front-running using news articles.

They purchased stocks before publishing articles and then sold them after the articles were released if the stock price increased. It was found that they mostly targeted stocks with low trading volumes or high price volatility when writing articles.

It is reported that B, from October 2022 to July 2024, used the same method as A’s group and independently gained 750 million won in illicit profits through around 300 articles.

A representative of the Special Judicial Police stated, "We will continue to monitor and strictly investigate any conduct that undermines the fair trading order of the capital markets and harms ordinary investors, such as this recent case of journalists involved in front-running. By doing so, we aim to enhance trust in the capital markets."

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