Ringleader of "Young Poong Paper Stock Manipulation" Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison... Total Fines for Accomplices Reach 2.9 Trillion Won

Only 132.4 Billion Won in Illicit Gains Recognized out of 789.8 Billion Won

Lee, identified as the ringleader of the so-called “Young Poong Paper stock manipulation case”—known as the largest market manipulation incident involving a single stock—was sentenced to 15 years in prison and was taken into custody following the verdict in the first trial.

On September 30, the Criminal Agreement Division 12 of the Seoul Southern District Court, presided over by Judge Park Jongryeol, sentenced Lee to 15 years in prison and a fine of 397.3 billion won on charges including violations of the Capital Markets Act. In addition, the court imposed a forfeiture order of approximately 132.4 billion won.

(Seoul=Yonhap News) Reporter Dohun Kim = Yoon Mo and Lee Mo, who are suspected of price manipulation related to unfair trading allegations involving Youngpoong Paper, appeared at the Seoul Southern District Court in Yangcheon-gu on the morning of the 20th for a pre-arrest detention hearing. 2023.10.20 Photo by Dohun Kim

The court stated, “Lee planned and led the overall market manipulation scheme, recruiting personnel and assigning roles as needed,” and pointed out, “He played a key role overseeing the management of accounts and funds.” The court further explained, “All accounts and profits obtained from the violations were under Lee’s direct management, so the forfeiture will not be divided among the defendants but will instead be recovered solely from Lee as the principal overseer.”

However, the court noted it took into account the fact that, on September 23, the Supreme Court had finalized a one-year prison sentence for Lee for aiding the escape of former Sambo Construction Vice Chairman Lee Gihoon, who is a key figure in a separate stock manipulation case, when determining the sentence in this case.

For the twenty co-conspirators who were prosecuted alongside Lee, the court handed down sentences ranging from one year and six months to six years in prison, suspended sentences, and fines. Two defendants were found not guilty. The total amount of fines imposed on the group amounts to 2.9 trillion won, and if deferred fines are included, the total approaches 4 trillion won.

Out of those convicted, 11—including Lee—received prison sentences, 10 received suspended sentences, and one received only a fine. Individual fines ranged from 2.5 million won to 397.3 billion won.

Lee and his co-conspirators were indicted for conspiring to manipulate the price of Young Poong Paper shares using 444 accounts from October 25, 2022, to October 17, 2023, generating about 789.8 billion won in illicit gains.

Due to their actions, the closing price of Young Poong Paper stock surged from 3,484 won on October 25, 2022, to 48,400 won about a year later, reflecting a fourteen-fold increase.

On this day, the court found Lee and others guilty of manipulating the market from October 25, 2022, to October 17, 2023. However, the court determined that account data obtained through additional investigations conducted by the Financial Supervisory Service without a warrant after the prosecution began its investigation on October 4, 2023, had been collected illegally and thus was inadmissible as evidence.

As a result, the court limited recognized illicit gains to the 132.4 billion won derived from transactions involving 113 accounts up until August 18, 2023, rather than the entire duration in question.

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