Representative of a small and medium-sized entertainment agency, suspected of 'front-running'.. involving an active reporter

*This content was translated by AI.

The Financial Supervisory Service's Special Judicial Police for Capital Markets is understood to have launched a forced investigation into four former and current reporters, including journalists accredited to the Financial Supervisory Service, and one entertainment agency on suspicion of front-running stocks.

According to NEWSIS on the 9th, the FSS Special Judicial Police sent investigators to the home of an active reporter, Mr. A, his affiliated media outlet, the entertainment agency where Mr. B serves as representative, and Mr. B's residence early today to search for and seize relevant materials such as laptops.

Mr. A and others are reported to have written articles on characteristic stocks of hundreds of KOSDAQ-listed companies over recent years under instructions from the representative of a KOSDAQ-listed entertainment agency. In particular, Mr. A is known to be a journalist currently accredited to the Financial Supervisory Service and other financial institutions.

It has been confirmed that the number of KOSDAQ-listed companies for which these individuals wrote articles over recent years amounts to around 300.

The FSS Special Judicial Police suspects that during this process, Mr. A and others purchased stocks related to the topics before their articles were published, then sold them after publication when stock prices rose, thereby securing illegal profits of hundreds of millions of won per person.

It is understood that the total illegal gains obtained by those under investigation through front-running amount to approximately 3 billion won.

Although the initial list of suspects was small, the scope of the investigation has reportedly expanded as additional suspects were identified during the FSS Special Judicial Police's tracking of bank accounts and transaction records.

Previously, in November last year, the FSS Special Judicial Police arrested two individuals—a former reporter from Seoul Economic TV and a full-time investor formerly employed at a securities firm—on suspicion of front-running articles on characteristic stocks and transferred them to the Prosecution Service. Subsequently, in June this year, they investigated two additional cases involving certified public accountants and former and current reporters, transferring seven suspects to the Prosecution Service.

The FSS Special Judicial Police plans to analyze the seized materials along with bank accounts and transaction records, then summon relevant reporters one by one to investigate the circumstances of article writing, stock trading processes, and their relationship with Mr. B.

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*This content was translated by AI.