Prosecutors to summon KOL chairman for stock price manipulation

Prosecutors will summon Jim Mellon, 43, chairman of Korea Online, the holding company of Regent Securities (formerly Daeyu Regent Securities), for questioning concerning the alleged stock price manipulation of the company.

Officials at the Seoul District Prosecutor¡¯s Office said that the prosecutors will interrogate Mellon about his relationship with Jin Seung-Hyun, 27, representative of MCI Korea, suspected of having involved in huge illegal loan scandal of Yeollin Mutual Savings and Finance Co.

The prosecutor¡¯s office Monday expanded the special task force mission to arrest Jin who has been hiding himself.

Taking into consideration that Jim Mellon, who is British, lives mainly in the U.K. and Hong Kong, the prosecutor¡¯s office plans to ask the KOL to cooperate with the investigation.

The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) asked the prosecutor¡¯s office to investigate Mellon and Koh Chang-Gon, former president of Regent Securities, on suspicions of having manipulated the stock price of Regent Securities Co.

The officials also said that Jin took over Asia Banking Co. for only US$10 million from Sull Won-Shik and his son, the largest shareholders of Asia Banking (precedent of H&A Investment Bank) on condition of attracting US$30 million from Swiss Privat Bank Consortium (SPBC) in April this year.

With regard to Jin¡¯s takeover of Asia Banking Corporation, the prosecutors called in Sull Buhm, son of Sull Won-Shik, chairman of the Taihan Textile and put Sull Won-Shik on the wanted list because he went abroad.

Lee Soo-Hyung sooh@donga.com