[Anchor]

A network that reaped tens of billions of won in ill-gotten gains using undisclosed information obtained while working in the financial sector has been uncovered. All five of the key suspects are alumni of a business club at Seoul National University, having formed a sort of information cartel to share data over a long period.

Here is a report from reporter Lee Tae-gwon.

[Reporter]

The Joint Response Task Force against Stock Manipulation has raided the offices and homes of about 10 individuals suspected of trading stocks using undisclosed information.

The key suspects number five.

In their 30s and 40s, all of them are alumni of a business club at Seoul National University who have worked in tasks related to mergers and acquisitions, such as public tenders, at private equity funds and listed companies.

Having forged ties through the same university club and global consulting firms, they were found to have shared favorable undisclosed information with each other over the past five years and utilized it for stock trading.

They also passed on undisclosed information acquired during their work to family members and acquaintances, using a method of buying related stocks at low prices and disposing of them at high prices after the information was made public.

It was revealed that they pocketed illicit profits totaling around 20 billion won across five stocks.

[Hwang Sun-oh / Head of the Joint Response Task Force against Stock Manipulation: This case is very grave in that professional personnel who bear a strict obligation to maintain confidentiality were the source of the information, and that the information spread even to family members and acquaintances, widely expanding unfair trading practices.]

The joint response task force has intensively investigated abnormal transactions captured during the market monitoring process since last May to confirm the circumstances of information sharing among the key suspects.

Simultaneously with the raids today (September 29), a suspension of payments was placed on their securities accounts.

The response task force plans to file complaints against those involved and impose administrative fines amounting to up to twice the ill-gotten gains.

In October of last year, eight people, including a securities firm executive and their spouse, were also caught pocketing billions of won using undisclosed information.

Voices are growing louder calling for the overhaul of sanction levels and internal control systems regarding crimes by financial professionals.

(Video by Seol Chi-hwan | Video Editing by Jeong Yong-hwa | Graphics by Yeji Kim)