FSC to refer former executives of Meritz to prosecution for insider trading

The Securities and Futures Commission under the Financial Services Commission (FSC) said Thursday they had decided to refer four former executives and one employee of insurer Meritz Fire & Marine Insurance to prosecution on suspicion of insider trading the previous day.

The former executives purchased a large number of shares in Meritz Financial Group before the holding company announced plans in November 2022 to merge two of its affiliates — Meritz Securities and Meritz Fire & Marine Insurance.

Each of the former executives reportedly made more than 500 million won ($359,761) as shares of the holding company hit their daily limit following the announcement.

The FSC suspects that the former executives were aware of the merger plan before its official announcement and bought the shares in advance, with the intent to sell them at a higher price.

“Employees at financial firms are held to a higher standard of ethics. We plan to thoroughly investigate cases of employees at financial firms using undisclosed information,” the FSC said.

Yonhap