On December 6, Artist United, the agency of South Korean actor Lee Jung-jae, released a statement in response to allegations of insider trading against the actor. Recently, Jung-jae and another South Korean actor, Jung Woo-sung, were accused of insider trading amidst a stock plunge, and there were reports indicating that both actors were under investigation.
In response to these rumors, Artist United issued a statement clarifying that the actor is not involved in any ongoing police investigations. They highlighted that neither their largest shareholder, Lee Jung-jae, nor their joint label, Artist Company, has engaged in any illegal activities. The agency also separately clarified the actor's standpoint with the accusations.
The excerpt from the statement read:
"Artist Company and Lee Jung-jae are not part of the investigation. Lee Jung Jae had no involvement in illegal activities such as information leaks or prearranged stock trading during Wider Planet's third-party allotment capital increase. We will actively respond to resolve misunderstandings about Lee Jung-jae and Artist United."
Artist United denies allegations of Lee Jung-jae's involvement in insider trading amidst stock plunge
On December 6, the stocks of Artist United, which specializes in big data and AI-driven marketing platforms, saw a decline of 20% in value. This sharp drop sparked insider trading speculations regarding the company. The stock, which traded at 13,270 KRW, saw a drop of 21.62% in value from the previous day and reportedly hit a lower limit of 11,860 KRW.
When this information reached Korean news media outlets, they began to speculate that the company might have manipulated its stock and labeled it as a political-themed stock to inflate its value and profit from its rise. Given that Lee Jung-jae is the largest shareholder in the company, he was also implicated in the insider trading allegations.
In response to these accusations, Artist United released a statement explaining their stance:
"Our company is currently facing disruptions to normal business operations due to speculation and allegations linking us to illegal activities such as insider trading and unfair transactions. It is true that we are cooperating with the financial authorities' investigation."
The statement continued:
"However, this is strictly in the capacity of assisting their inquiry into suspects involved in insider trading. Investigators have confirmed that none of our executives or employees are implicated in any wrongdoing. Neither our largest shareholder, Lee Jung-jae, nor Artist Company is a subject of the investigation.”
Additionally, they concluded their statement by expressing that while their agency had previously been involved in insider stock trading when it was known as Wider Planet, these actions have not been repeated.
"Unlawful acts such as information leaks or prearranged stock trading during the third-party allotment capital increase under the previous entity, Wider Planet, are completely unrelated to our company."
Moreover, they stated that further allegations would result in legal action from their side.