Court says statute still valid in Kim case

A South Korean appeals court has ruled that the statute of limitations remains in effect in the alleged stock manipulation case involving Kim Keon Hee, citing a Supreme Court precedent from the humidifier disinfectant scandal.

According to a 214-page ruling obtained by The Dong-A Ilbo on Wednesday, the Seoul High Court’s Criminal Division 15-2, led by Presiding Judge Shin Jong-oh, said Kim can still be held liable as a co-conspirator even if she had withdrawn from the scheme. The panel reversed the lower court’s decision and found that the statute of limitations for the alleged manipulation of Deutsch Motors shares has not expired.

The lower court had determined that the statute had already run out, using Jan. 13, 2011 as the cutoff. That was when Kim was said to have received a profit settlement from Black Pearl Invest after providing a securities account containing 2 billion won to the firm, identified as a co-conspirator.

The appeals court rejected that view, citing a 2018 Supreme Court decision in the humidifier disinfectant case. In that ruling, the court held that former executives can still be held criminally liable as accomplices for illegal acts that continued after they left their positions.

Applying that reasoning, the court said Kim may still be responsible for stock price manipulation carried out by co-conspirators through Dec. 5, 2012, even if she had exited the conspiracy earlier. It therefore concluded that the statute of limitations has not lapsed.


여근호기자 yeoroot@donga.com