SEOUL — President Lee Jae-myung issued a stern warning against corrupt media practices over the weekend, calling for an immediate halt to stock manipulation schemes orchestrated through biased reporting and urging compromised reporters to return to the path of integrity.
The presidential warning followed a recent high-profile crackdown by financial regulators on a illicit network where journalists allegedly colluded with market brokers to artificially inflate stock prices for personal gain.
In a message posted on his official X (formerly Twitter) account on June 13, President Lee shared an investigative report details a recent enforcement action led by the Financial Supervisory Service’s (FSS) Capital Market Special Judicial Police. The Special Police recently detained an economic news reporter and a market broker on charges of violating the Capital Markets Act.
"Cease these ruinous stock manipulation schemes immediately, and return to your proper role as honorable journalists dedicated to balanced and truthful reporting," President Lee wrote, directly addressing those within the media industry who exploit their public influence for private illicit wealth.
A 9 Billion Won Illicit Enterprise
According to the investigation details cited by the President, the scale of the manipulation operation was extensive. The network allegedly published nearly 2,000 favorable corporate articles specifically timed to manipulate equity prices.
Operating like a well-coordinated insider trading ring, the perpetrators engaged in "front-running"—purchasing shares of targeted micro-cap and mid-cap companies at a lower price before releasing highly optimistic, market-moving news articles. Once the positive coverage triggered a wave of retail investment and drove the stock prices upward, the ring sold their shares to pocket the immediate price difference.
Through this systemic manipulation of public information channels, the group amassed roughly 9 billion won ($6.6 million USD) in illicit capital gains. Financial regulators noted that the sheer volume of tainted articles generated by a single network severely undermined the structural credibility of financial news and left everyday retail investors vulnerable to severe financial losses.
Clemency Offered for Voluntary Self-Reporting
In his public address, President Lee paired his condemnation with a final warning, offering a window of leniency for individuals wrapped up in similar market-manipulation syndicates who choose to cooperate with state authorities.
"If you have already committed these offenses, I strongly urge you to turn yourself in," the President stated. "By actively participating in public interest whistleblowing, you can receive significant reductions in criminal penalties, alongside financial rewards for reporting illegal operations."
Legal experts interpret the President’s statement as a calculated strategy to dismantle similar ongoing market illicit rings from within by incentivizing low-level accomplices to expose larger networks. The Financial Services Commission (FSC) and the FSS have recently expanded institutional protections and financial rewards for whistleblowers in a bid to roots out sophisticated financial crimes.
Eradicating "Abnormal" Relics of the Past
The commentary serves as a broader declaration of the administration's domestic policy agenda, which treats financial fairness and institutional integrity as critical pillars of national competitiveness. President Lee framed the collusion between financial media and market speculators not merely as an isolated white-collar crime, but as a systemic injustice that directly harms law-abiding citizens.
"Any behavior that harms innocent citizens who follow the rules, simply to enrich those who break them, is an undeniable abnormality inherited from a bygone era," President Lee emphasized. "To build a truly prosperous and fair Republic of Korea where everyone can thrive together, normalizing these deep-seated abnormalities is an unavoidable historic duty."
The administration’s strong stance signals an impending wave of rigorous audits and investigations targeting the intersections of financial journalism, public relations firms, and speculative stock networks. Observers in Seoul note that the presidential focus on financial market integrity will likely accelerate legislative efforts to impose harsher criminal sentences and comprehensive asset forfeiture on individuals convicted of market manipulation.
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