A special counsel team has raided a contractor as part of its investigation into stock price manipulation allegations involving former first lady Kim Keon-hee.

The team, led by special counsel Min Joong-ki, said in a notice to reporters on Thursday that its prosecutors and investigators launched the search in the morning at Sambu Construction and the residences of suspects. 

It is the first raid by Min’s team since it launched its investigation with an official plaque unveiling ceremony on Wednesday. 

About ten former and current executives of the construction company were referred to the prosecution on allegations that they manipulated and drove up the value of its stocks by falsely suggesting it was about to launch reconstruction projects overseas, and then sold their shares to reap hundreds of billions of won in illicit profits. 

Sambu Construction’s stock prices surged after the company attended a forum in Poland in May 2023 on the reconstruction of Ukraine.

The timing of the stock surge coincided with a visit to Ukraine by Kim and former President Yoon Suk Yeol, when the couple discussed reconstruction projects with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy
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