Lee Ki-hoon, vice chairman of Sambu Construction, appears at special counsel Min Joong-ki’s office in central Seoul on Sept. 11, 2025. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, Sept. 11 (Korea Bizwire) — Special counsel Min Joong-ki’s team on Thursday requested an arrest warrant for a senior construction company executive over his alleged role in a stock price manipulation scheme possibly involving former first lady Kim Keon Hee.
The investigation team filed for the warrant for Lee Ki-hoon, vice chairman of Sambu Construction, with the Seoul Central District Court, after questioning him for allegedly orchestrating a scheme to inflate the company’s share price in 2023.
The company is suspected of misleading investors at the time by suggesting it would carry out reconstruction projects in Ukraine. Its shares climbed from around the 1,000-won level (US$0.72) in May 2023 to 5,500 won two months later.
Lee allegedly reaped tens of billions of won in profits from manipulating the stock between May and September 2023.
Min’s office suspects Kim’s involvement after her close associate was found to have posted a group chat message urging members to pay attention to Sambu Construction shares before their prices surged.
The Seoul Central District Court is expected to hold a hearing on whether to grant the warrant on Friday.
A key point of attention in the investigation is whether it would expand to target the former first lady.
Ousted President Yoon Suk Yeol, accompanied by Kim, made a surprise visit to Ukraine in July 2023, despite a travel ban to the war-torn country and discussed joint reconstruction efforts with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The investigation team is currently looking into whether the couple’s trip to Ukraine was related to the upsurge in Sambu shares.
(Yonhap)
