Seoul, July 30:
Prosecutors said on Wednesday they have indicted eight people, including six business daily journalists, for allegedly manipulating stock prices and pocketing over 9 billion won ($6.19 million) in illicit gains.
The suspects face charges of purchasing low-volume or highly volatile stocks in advance before inflating their prices by publishing favourable news articles and then selling them off, the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors Office said. Of the suspects, an accountant, an investor and five reporters allegedly reaped 8.55 billion won in illegal profits by writing around 1,800 articles between October 2020 and June last year.
The reporters joined the scheme on the condition of receiving 300,000 won per article, with three of them pocketing a total of approximately 150 million won, 160 million won and 28 million won, respectively, reports Yonhap news agency.