LG Group Founder's Eldest Daughter and Husband Acquitted Again in Appeal Over 'Trading on Nonpublic Information'

"Merely Circumstances Raising Suspicion of Guilt"

Seoul High Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul. Yonhap News Agency

Koo Yeonkyung, CEO of the LG Welfare Foundation and the eldest daughter of the late Koo Bonmoo, former chairman of LG Group, and her husband, Yoon Kwan, CEO of BlueRun Ventures (BRV), were acquitted again in their appeals trial on charges of buying shares using nonpublic information. The court recognized that the investment information constituted material nonpublic information, but found that it had not been proven that Yoon passed it on to Koo.

The Seoul High Court's Criminal Division 4-3 (Presiding Judge Jeon Jiwon, with Judges Kim Ingyeom and Sung Jiyong) on November 11 dismissed the prosecution's appeal in the case against Koo and Yoon, who were indicted for violating the Capital Markets Act, and upheld the lower court's not-guilty verdict.

The court found that information about BRV's investment in a KOSDAQ-listed biotechnology company, referred to as Company A, had become specific enough by at least April 2023 to affect investment decisions, and thus constituted material nonpublic information.

The court also acknowledged that there were suspicious aspects to Koo's stock purchases. Company A had posted losses for several years, and its share price had repeatedly surged and plunged. The court said, "It does not seem like the kind of stock that Koo, who had almost no experience investing in stocks, would readily buy in the hope of a price increase," adding, "This raises the suspicion that she bought the shares after receiving investment-related information from Yoon."

However, the court found it difficult to find them guilty on that basis. Koo had the financial means to invest more but used only part of her funds, and she did not realize a profit even after the information was disclosed. The court also took into account that, before the information was disclosed, she openly told employees around her that she had bought the shares. It found that this conduct was inconsistent with an attempt to make illicit gains using nonpublic information.

The court also did not rule out the possibility that Koo had learned of the information through another channel. In an investigation by the Financial Supervisory Service, Koo said she had heard about the new drug development around October 2022. The court found that, because introductions and visits related to Company A had in fact taken place around that time, Koo may have heard about the company then and become interested in it.

The court said, "Even if the purchases were made shortly after the information took shape and some parts of the defendants' claims are not entirely convincing, these are merely circumstances that may raise suspicion of guilt; they do not constitute direct evidence establishing the charges." It added, "The possibility cannot be ruled out that she learned about the information through another channel, recognized the company's value, and invested," and ruled that "the lower court's decision was justified, and it did not err in its findings of fact or interpretation of the law."

The couple were indicted on charges of making illicit gains by using information about BRV's planned 50 billion won investment in Company A through a third-party allotment of new shares before it was disclosed. Company A, which develops treatments for rare heart conditions and other drugs, announced at the time that it had raised 50 billion won through a third-party allotment of new shares from BRV Capital Management. The person who made the investment decision was Yoon, BRV's chief investment officer (CIO).

In the first and appeals trials, prosecutors sought a two-year prison term and a 50 million won fine for Yoon, and a one-year prison term, a 20 million won fine, and forfeiture of approximately 105.66 million won for Koo. In February 2026, the lower court acquitted them, finding no direct evidence that Yoon had passed nonpublic information on to Koo.

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