Tycoons Charged With Insider Trading

An investigation has been launched into suspicions that seven or eight second-generation business moguls, including Chung Mong-gyu, chairman of the Hyundai Development Company, illegally earned several tens of billions of won through stock price manipulation of Shinsegi Telecom with the help of Jin Seung-hyun, former vice chairman of MCI Korea, who is currently in custody.

The Seoul District Prosecutor’s special investigation section, which is investigating the Yoon Sang-lim fraud case, announced yesterday that it found evidence that Chung was involved in stock price manipulation when it searched the offices of Bridge Securities (the successor to Regent Securities), which is under fire for its intermediation of off-board transactions in 1999.

“In last week’s search, we obtained documents that confirmed that Regent Securities purchased Shinsegi Telecom shares from Jin,” said Lee In-kyu, the senior prosecutor with the Seoul District Prosecutor’s Office in charge of this case.

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