Allegations of preferential resale and embezzlement surfaced from Lime investigation

Lime Asset Management, which caused significant disruption to the Korean economy in 2019 by halting the resale of private equity funds valued at 1.6 trillion won, allegedly refunded 200 million won to Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Sang-hee just prior to freezing the resale. This action raises concerns of a potential “preferential resale,” suggesting that certain high-profile investors were favored by the asset management firm, which diverted several hundred million won from other financial instruments into which funds from general investors had been injected.

On Thursday, the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) released additional findings from its investment into Lime Asset Management, Optimus Asset Management, and Discovery Asset Management. In response to criticism that the initial investigation conducted during the Moon Jae-in administration was insufficient, Governor Lee Bok-hyun led the FSS in establishing a dedicated task force to delve into these three asset management firms.

The FSS further verified that Lime Asset Management employed a similar approach, returning 5 billion won and 20 billion won in investments to a publicly listed company and an undisclosed federation, respectively. Additionally, a newly discovered embezzlement amounting to 200 billion won has come to light, involving five companies that received injections from funds managed by Lime.


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