President`s son-in-law cleared from suspicion of insider trading

SEOUL, March 25 (Yonhap) -- Prosecutors said on Wednesday that they have cleared
a son-in-law of President Lee Myung-bak from suspicion of insider trading after
months of investigation.
Cho Hyun-bum, vice president of Hankook Tire Co., was accused of earning 110
million won (about US$80,000) in early 2007 by manipulating the stock prices of
Kosdaq-listed ND Corp., an overseas resources developer, on the basis of an
insider information.
The 36-year-old Cho, husband of President Lee's third daughter, Soo-yun, was also
suspected of participating in the embezzlement of funds from Kosdaq-listed
wireless contents provider Codinus last year.
Officials at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office said that they failed
to find any signs of illegality in Cho's controversial investments in ND Corp.
and Codinus.
"Cho's investment in ND Corp. was indirectly carried out by an investment
consulting company. Moreover, Cho's investment was conducted regardless of the
timing of the company's announcement of an energy development project in
Kazakhstan," said a prosecutor.
"Cho's investment of 4 billion won in Codinus also turned out to be purely for
investment purposes, rather than being linked to a group of arrested embezzlers,"
he said.
Kim Young-jip, a grand son of Hankook Chinaware founder Kim Jong-ho, and others
were arrested last December on charges of embezzling 36.2 billion won from
Codinus through insider information. At that time, the nation's stock market
watchdog also reported Cho and seven others to the prosecution on suspicion of
illicit stock deals.
President Lee has one son and three daughters.
Cho Hyun-bum is the second son of Hankook Tire Chairman Cho Yang-rae, who is an
younger brother of Cho Suck-rai, chairman of Hyosung Group and the Federation of
Korean Industries.
odissy@yna.co.kr
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