Lee Seung-gi's father-in-law released on bail after stock manipulation charges
Published: 24 Sep. 2025, 19:05
Updated: 24 Sep. 2025, 20:17
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- KIM MIN-YOUNG
- [email protected]
![Singer and actor Lee Seung-gi [YONHAP]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2025/09/24/81d60835-80a0-472b-be78-8305f210f724.jpg)
Singer and actor Lee Seung-gi [YONHAP]
Singer Lee Seung-gi’s father-in-law was released on bail Monday after being indicted and detained on charges of stock manipulation involving multiple Kosdaq-listed companies.
The court accepted a bail request from the 58-year-old man, surnamed Lee, who was indicted for violating the Capital Markets Act, according to the Seoul Southern District Court on Wednesday.
The court set bail at 100 million won ($71,500) and imposed conditions including restrictions on his residence, mandatory court appearances and a ban on contacting others involved in the case. Lee was also required to submit a written pledge not to destroy evidence or leave the country without permission.
Lee and his associates are accused of inflating share prices of three Kosdaq-listed companies by falsely promoting so-called Pearl projects — high-tech business ventures that promised to boost company value — and making 14 billion won in illicit profits.
Prosecutors say that from November 2022 to late 2023, the group manipulated shares of Joongang Advanced Materials, a secondary battery materials company, raising its stock price from 490 won to 5,850 won per share — more than tenfold.
Lee is also accused of inflating the stock price of Kosdaq-listed Quantapia through a false disclosure in June 2023, claiming to have secured 100 billion won in funding. Prosecutors allege this earned him about 5 billion won. He is also suspected of making an additional 1.1 billion won in unfair gains by manipulating Quantapia’s stock using accomplices between May and December that year.
![Singer and actor Lee Seung-gi speaks during a press conference for the film ″About Family″ (2024) in Songpa District, southern Seoul, on Nov. 21, 2024. [YONHAP]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2025/09/24/109783a0-80dd-4e28-a559-0e9f91392860.jpg)
Singer and actor Lee Seung-gi speaks during a press conference for the film ″About Family″ (2024) in Songpa District, southern Seoul, on Nov. 21, 2024. [YONHAP]
When Quantapia’s stock was suspended in February 2024, Lee allegedly paid 30 million won to a former prosecutor’s office investigator, and promised an additional 1 billion won in success fees in exchange for resolving the issue, leading to a separate charge of violating the Attorney-at-Law Act.
Lee also faces charges of using undisclosed information related to another Kosdaq-listed company, Xcure, to trade shares for a profit of about 104 million won.
Lee was arrested on April 28 and indicted on May 15. Prosecutors charged 13 people in the case. During the first hearing in June, Lee denied all allegations.
Singer Lee Seung-gi, who married Lee’s daughter in 2023, publicly stated in April that he had cut ties with his in-laws following the arrest.
BY KIM MIN-YOUNG [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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