The Korea Exchange is reportedly monitoring the stock trading behaviors of Hyundai Motor Group executives and employees before important disclosures related to Apple car, financial sources said on Feb. 14.
On Jan. 8, Hyundai Motor announced that it was receiving requests for cooperation in joint development related to autonomous electric vehicles from many companies, but it has not been decided as an initial step.
Since then, the related stock prices have fluctuated due to a series of follow-up reports that Kia will take charge of producing Apple cars, but the increase has been returned sharply after news of the suspension of consultations on Feb. 8.
Attention is focusing on whether the financial authorities will investigate Hyundai Motor Group executives who sold their shares in the process of consulting with Apple on the development of autonomous electric vehicles and the news of the suspension.
Authorities are expected to launch an investigation into the ongoing monitoring and future hearings of the Korea Exchange if they find any allegations or other clues to suspect unfair trade.
This is because 12 Hyundai Motor executives have sold stocks since Jan. 8 when the stock price rose due to rumors of cooperation with Apple, raising suspicions that they may have used undisclosed information, the Yonhap News reported on Feb. 8.
A total of 3,402 shares (including preferred shares) were disposed of and it was worth 830 million won.
Usually, unfair trade cases, such as transactions using undisclosed information, are first monitored by the Korea Exchange for abnormal transactions and examined for possible violations of the law.
If it is judged to be suspected, the Financial Services Commission's Capital Market Investigation Team or the Financial Supervisory Service will take over, investigate, and notify or report to the prosecution.
Some analysts said that it would be difficult to see Hyundai executives selling their shares by using undisclosed information as their sales were distributed to multiple periods without being concentrated just before the disclosure.
It is common for executives to trade their shares, and as stock prices rise a lot, they may have simply sold some stocks to realize profits, they said.
However, if suspicious circumstances such as the sharing of certain information through internal messengers are newly revealed, the story may change.
An official from the financial authorities said, "Even if there seems to be no connection at the time if there is an internal report (supporting the suspicion), it will naturally be subject to investigation."
