'Track 60 Minutes' Korea Discount and its rivals—Is the domestic stock market 'rigged'?
The program "60 Minutes Investigation" episode 1416 of KBS1 will be broadcast on the afternoon of the 27th at 10 PM, featuring "Korea Discount and Its Enemies."
As of last year, the number of domestic stock investors exceeded 14 million. This means that one out of every four citizens is participating in the stock market. While the stock market has become popular among the general public, distrust towards the market remains.
‘한국 시장에서 돈을 버는 제1원칙은 국내 주식에 투자하지 않는 것’이라는 말이 회자될 정도다. 일부 투자자들은 주식 시장을 짜여진 판이라 부르며, 보이지 않는 검은 손의 개입을 의심한다. 확대되는 주식 시장의 크기와 비례하여 깊어지는 증권 범죄의 늪을 ‘추적 60분’이 취재했다.
■ Trading Suspension and the Tears of 250,000 Ants
Truck driver Mr. Kim Dong-seok (alias) has recently increased his working hours. He suffered significant losses from stock investments and is now working as a night-time substitute driver to pay off his debts. It's common for him to drive the truck out at 4 AM and only return home in the early morning of the next day. He incurred substantial losses when the lithium-ion battery themed stock 'Company K' that he invested in on the advice of a friend suddenly had its trading halted. "It was an investment prepared for the future, but now I have a secret I can't even tell my family," he said, unable to hide his dejection.
This is not the first time such an incident has occurred. Another investor, Ms. Lee Jeong-hee (pseudonym), also found herself burdened with substantial loans as a result of the company's stock being suspended from trading. It is estimated that about 250,000 shareholders invested in Company K. Some investors have appealed online, saying their livelihoods are at risk due to their investments. What kind of company was K, which these people had trusted?
The chemical company K, based in Busan, was once a mid-size enterprise. After entering the secondary battery market in 2020, its stock price surged. For a moment, it brought smiles to its shareholders' faces, but K began to falter. It started to reverse the announcements that had driven its stock price up. Eventually, in March of this year, its stock trading was halted due to an audit opinion rejection. K, which once reached second place in the total market capitalization on the KOSDAQ, now appears to be struggling even with paying employee wages and resuming factory construction.
■ The Truth of the Mine, The Whereabouts of the Lost Battery
K사는 리튬 광산 개발을 앞세워 이차 전지 광풍에 올라탔다. 지난 2023년 K사는 몽골의 광산 개발 회사의 지분을 인수하기로 결정했으며 당시 해당 광산의 추정 가치가 118조 원에 이른다고 홍보했다. 대형 호재에 대한 기대감은 주가 급등으로 이어졌다. K사가 처음 공시에서 밝혔던 향후 3개년의 매출액은 연간 4000억 원. 하지만 이들은 이후 당초 공시 안에서 90%나 하락한 수치로 수정한 공시를 다시 발표했다. 크게 하향 조정된 수치에 투자자 타격은 컸다. 광산 개발에 대한 의혹이 커진 상황. 실제 몽골은 어떤 모습일까. 〈추적 60분〉 제작진이 직접 찾아가 봤다.
The business operations in Mongolia were on hold. K company had decided on the share acquisition just less than a month after signing the Memorandum of Understanding for share acquisition. However, at that time, samples for analysis had just arrived in Korea and proper analysis had not yet been carried out.
"The analysis was done and the internal discussion took place, but instead of just announcing, they announced, analyzed, and had internal discussions. (The order is reversed)" - Informant from Company K
K company announced in a disclosure that it had signed a battery supply contract with a foreign company, but there are suspicions that no battery shipments have ever been made. The multi-trillion won contract with an unlisted overseas company is also difficult to verify. Where are all the produced batteries going? Despite this reality, shareholders still believe in the company's potential.
■ The black hand moving the board
Three-B Construction, which mainly falls under the category of Ukraine reconstruction, saw a significant rise in its stock price and became embroiled in suspicions of stock manipulation. Another company facing similar allegations is BioTech Wellbeing, which previously sold health food products. Wellbeing, along with Three-B Construction, was referred to as a theme stock for Ukraine reconstruction and saw its stock price more than triple within a short period. It is estimated that the entities responsible for the significant stock price increase reaped approximately 40 billion won in profits through convertible bond sales. At the time, the representative director who operated the company disappeared without making any statement regarding the allegations. The burden of this loss fell entirely on the shareholders.
■ The Prelude to One Strike Out
"It seems like the part that is commonly criticized in the market is that it might be a better choice to make a big score and after receiving a temporary punishment and coming out, spend the rest of your life comfortably," said Hwang Se-won from the Capital Market Research Institute.
The reason why unfair trading continues in the stock market is what? Capital market experts point out that "the fundamental cause is weak punishment." Exaggerated information, investment culture blindly following popular themes, manipulative forces driving market trends, and lenient post-facto punishments. All of these factors interact in a complex manner, leading to a 'Korea Discount' in the Korean stock market, according to the analysis.
"We will make today the first day that completely reverses this situation where people believe that illegal and unfair trading can make money in the South Korean stock market, clearly showing that playing around in the South Korean stock market will lead to ruin," said Lee Jae-myung, the 21st President of South Korea (June 11, 2025, Korea Exchange meeting).
Healthy capital markets, an essential element for economic growth and the development of capitalism. Who are the 'enemies' of the capital market that make retail investors cry and cause the 'Korea Discount'?
The program 'Korea Discount and Its Enemies' will be broadcast on KBS 1 on Friday, June 27 at 10 PM.
Seon Bong-seok reporter paulsohn@kyunghyang.comⓒSports Kyunghyang ( https://sports.khan.co.kr ) Prohibition of unauthorized reproduction and redistribution
Post a Comment