"Quantapia Stock Manipulation": Lee Seung-gi’s Father-in-law Sentenced to Three Years and Six Months in Prison

Father-in-law Fined 400 Million Won, Additional Forfeiture of 120 Million Won
Main Offender, Former Prosecutorial Investigator, Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison
"Acts That Harm the Capital Markets Carry Significant Culpability"

Lee Seung-gi’s father-in-law, Mr. Lee, has been sentenced to prison in the first trial for participating in the stock price manipulation case of the renewable energy company Quantapia, which generated hundreds of billions of won in illicit profits. Another individual surnamed Lee, identified as the mastermind behind the scheme, was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Seoul Southern District Court. Photo by Jiye Lee

On September 29, the Criminal Division 15 of the Seoul Southern District Court (Presiding Judge Noh Yu-kyoung) sentenced Mr. Lee (age 59), Lee Seung-gi’s father-in-law, to three years and six months in prison and imposed a 400 million won fine for violations of the Capital Markets Act and other related charges. He was also ordered to forfeit assets worth 120 million won. Mr. Lee (age 61), a former prosecutorial investigator and the main orchestrator of the scheme, was sentenced to 10 years in prison and fined 24 billion won, in addition to an asset forfeiture of 6.014 billion won.


For their accomplices who were also brought to trial, Mr. Oh was sentenced to eight years in prison and fined 5.4 billion won, with the court ordering the forfeiture of 1.79 billion won. Mr. Choi received seven years in prison and a 5.6 billion won fine, along with a 1.85 billion won forfeiture. Mr. Moon was sentenced to five years in prison, fined 11 billion won, and ordered to forfeit 3.65 billion won. Former police officer Mr. Han was sentenced to two years and six months in prison for violating the Attorneys-at-Law Act.

Mr. Lee and his accomplices were brought to trial for falsely disclosing a large-scale capital raising plan valued at about 100 billion won in June 2023 in order to inflate Quantapia’s stock price and obtain approximately 5 billion won in illicit gains. They were also accused of colluding with other defendants to use manipulative trading orders to artificially raise the stock price and obtain an additional 1.1 billion won in illicit profits between May and December of the same year.

The court found the conspiratorial relationship among the defendants to be proven and determined them guilty of manipulating Quantapia’s stock price. The court also recognized as proven their dissemination of rumors that Kosdaq-listed Xecure’s robotics business was being actively pursued, and the use of undisclosed information obtained during the acquisition process to trade stocks. The court stated, “This case constitutes a typical crime that severely harms numerous innocent investors and undermines their motivation to invest,” adding, “Stock price manipulation distorts the legitimate price formation function of the market and severely damages the capital markets, carrying significant culpability in and of itself.”

However, Mr. Lee, the father-in-law of Lee Seung-gi, was found not guilty of violating the Attorneys-at-Law Act and manipulating Xecure’s stock price due to lack of evidence. While the court recognized that Mr. Lee had received 30 million won from the former prosecutorial investigator and passed it on to Mr. Shin, it assessed that Mr. Lee had merely transmitted the funds, rather than personally obtaining any illicit benefit. The court also determined there was insufficient proof regarding the promise to receive 1 billion won as a success fee for resuming trading.

Regarding Mr. Lee, the court remarked, “He had previously been penalized for similar crimes, yet participated in this offense again, warranting serious condemnation. When the investigation surfaced, he attempted to destroy evidence, and his post-crime conduct has not been favorable, as he continues to make excuses, making a commensurate punishment unavoidable.”

Most of the charges against Mr. Lee, the former investigative officer and the main culprit, were found guilty. With regard to the issuance of convertible bonds worth about 100 billion won, the court pointed out, “The investment commitments appear to have been fabricated without the consent of the named parties, and the defendant was aware of this.” However, the court acknowledged only 3.1 billion won of illicit profits for this part, rather than the initially alleged 5 billion won. The court added, “He has consistently offered unconvincing excuses and attempts to shift responsibility onto his accomplices, and even during the investigation, he used his status as a former prosecutorial investigator, indicating unfavorable circumstances after the offense.”

Except for Mr. Bae, the defendants denied the charges during the trial. Lee Seung-gi’s father-in-law, Mr. Lee, completely denied the allegations, asserting that his trading of Quantapia stock was merely a personal investment decision and that he neither conspired nor participated in the price manipulation.

The Seoul Southern District Prosecutors’ Office arrested Mr. Lee in April of last year and subsequently indicted a total of 13 individuals, including Lee Seung-gi’s father-in-law, on charges of stock price manipulation the following May. Lee Seung-gi’s father-in-law was released on bail in September of the same year and has since been tried without detention.

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