▲ Kwon Oh-soo, the former head of Deutsch Motors Inc., a BMW car dealer in South Korea, attends a sentencing trial at the Seoul Central District Court on Feb. 10, 2023. (Yonhap)

(LEAD) court-stock manipulation

(LEAD) Former Deutsch Motors head gets suspended prison term for stock manipulation

(ATTN: UPDATES throughout with more details)

By Kim Han-joo

SEOUL, Feb. 10 (Yonhap) -- The former head of Deutsch Motors Inc., a BMW car dealer in South Korea, was convicted and given a suspended prison term on Friday for manipulating the company's stock prices.

The Seoul Central District Court sentenced Kwon Oh-soo two years in prison, suspended for three years, for violating the Capital Markets Act.

Kwon was indicted on charges of leaking insider information to induce purchases of the company's stocks between December 2009 and December 2012. In the process, Kwon conspired with influential market players and contacted stock companies and analysts to stir up market buzz around the company and promote purchases.

The court also ordered Kwon to pay a fine of 300 million won (US$237,700).

The court acknowledged Kwon and his accomplices had manipulated the market through about 3,000 sham dealings but gained only about 89 million won of profits, while some of his accomplices suffered financial losses reaching tens of millions of won.

It also cleared Kwon of stock manipulation conducted before October 2011, citing the expiration of the statute of limitations, and of the inside information leakage charge.

The ruling comes amid controversies surrounding first lady Kim Keon Hee over her alleged involvement in the case.

The main opposition Democratic Party has long accused Kim of bankrolling or playing an indirect role in the stock manipulation, and has proposed a special counsel probe.

The office of President Yoon Suk Yeol has denied the allegations.

The suspicion was also refuted by Kwon.

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