▲ An accomplice in the Deutsch Motors stock manipulation case being escorted to the investigation office of the independent counsel team investigating Kim Keon-hee after being arrested at a rest area in Chungju on November 20, 2025.
A suspended prison sentence has been finalized for an individual surnamed Lee, who was arrested and indicted as an accomplice in the Deutsch Motors stock manipulation case.
The Supreme Court's Third Division (presiding Justice Oh Seok-joon) has finalized the lower court ruling sentencing Lee, who was indicted for violating the Capital Markets Act, to 10 months in prison, suspended for two years, and a fine of 40 million won.
Lee was indicted in December of last year by the independent counsel team led by Min Joong-ki on charges of conspiring with former Deutsch Motors Chairman Kwon Oh-soo, former Black Pearl Invest CEO Lee Jong-ho, and others to manipulate Deutsch Motors stock prices between October 2010 and December 2012, thereby pocketing 13 million won in illicit profits.
The independent counsel team concluded that Kim Keon-hee also conspired with the stock manipulation ring to gain approximately 810 million won in profits between October 2010 and December 2012, and that Lee was involved in this process.
Lee has also been identified as the person who introduced Jeon Sung-bae, known as Geonjin Beopsa, to Kim.
Lee fled the scene during a search and seizure by the independent counsel team in October of last year, was apprehended about a month later in Chungju, North Chungcheong Province, and was sent to trial under arrest in December of that year.
The first trial acknowledged Lee's guilt, finding that Lee conspired in the second phase of Deutsch Motors stock manipulation led by former Chairman Kwon and others, sentencing Lee to 10 months in prison, suspended for two years, and a fine of 40 million won.
The second trial reached the same conclusion.
The second-instance appellate court pointed out that "the defendant actively participated in the second-phase stock manipulation crime by directly placing price-manipulative orders using accounts under other people's names," adding that "the defendant played a significant role, having placed 68 price-manipulative orders."
Although Lee appealed the ruling, the Supreme Court dismissed the appeal.
The Supreme Court stated that "there is no error in the lower court's judgment that violates the rules of logic and experience to exceed the limits of the principle of free evaluation of evidence, nor is there any misunderstanding of legal principles regarding the establishment of co-principals, the scope of criminal liability after withdrawal from a conspiracy, or the suspension of the statute of limitations."
Kim Keon-hee, who was indicted separately in connection with the Deutsch Motors stock manipulation allegations, was acquitted in the first trial on the grounds that the statute of limitations had expired or that there was no conspiracy relationship.
However, the second trial overturned the ruling, finding Kim guilty by partially acknowledging participation in market manipulation.
With certain charges of accepting valuables related to the Unification Church also additionally recognized as guilty, Kim was sentenced to four years in prison, which is heavier than the 1-year-and-8-month sentence given in the first trial.
The Supreme Court ruling for Kim's case was originally scheduled for the 16th of last month, but was postponed once to the 24th.
Subsequently, just a day before the scheduled ruling, it was delayed again to be referred to the full bench, and the date for the ruling will be designated at a later time.
(Photo: Yonhap News)
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