Constitutional Court justice nominee accused of illegally trading stock

By Kim Hyo-jin

Lee You-jung

The main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP) on Thursday called on the financial authorities to thoroughly investigate an allegation that Constitutional Court Justice-nominee Lee You-jung engaged in illegal stock-trading.

“The financial authorities should investigate the possibility of Lee having made abnormal stock trades by using unofficial insider information,” said the Party’s floor leader Rep. Chung Woo-taik.

Chung said the party is considering filing a complaint to the prosecution if the Moon Jae-in administration pushes ahead with her appointment.

Lee has been accused of profiting by over 1 billion won ($888,400) through trading unlisted stocks. Two-thirds of Lee and her husband’s property was in the form of stocks and their increased profit was from selling shares of little-known companies on the KOSDAQ market, a parliamentary confirmation hearing found Monday.

Over the most controversial trades involved Naturalendo Tech, a biopharmaceutical company, Lee defended, saying in the hearing, “A fellow lawyer told me it has a chance of being listed on the stock market so I bought the stock. There was no insider trading… I don’t find any issue of investing in stock as a lawyer.”

Suspicion was soon raised that the fellow lawyer was affiliated with a law firm from which Naturalendo Tech sought legal advice and Lee earning profit should be seen as based on insider information.

The minor opposition Baruen Party said it will file a petition with the Financial Supervisory Service for an investigation on her stock scandal.

Rep. Oh Shin-hwan of the National Assembly’s legislation and judiciary committee noted a civic group is preparing to file a complaint to the prosecution, saying, “Then, the result of the investigation will come out soon.”

Lee has already been embroiled in a controversy over her political orientation. Conservative parties have taken issue with her backing a liberal candidate in the 2011 Seoul mayoral election and her inclusion on the list of the ruling party’s new recruits in the lead-up to the presidential election.