President orders probe into lawmaker over alleged stock trading with aide’s account

Rep. Lee Choon-suak (center) of the Democratic Party of Korea is surrounded by reporters after attending a plenary session at the National Assembly in Seoul on Tuesday. (Yonhap)

President Lee Jae Myung on Wednesday ordered an investigation into Rep. Lee Choon-suak of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea over allegations that the lawmaker engaged in stock trading using an account under his aide's name.

The lawmaker is also suspected to have purchased stock based on information obtained through his official duties before it became public.

"President Lee views the matter gravely," presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung said during a regular briefing. Kang added that the president had instructed relevant authorities to "swiftly uncover the truth and carry out a strict and impartial investigation."

The president also ordered the four-term lawmaker's dismissal from his position as head of the economic subcommittee under the policy planning committee, a de facto transition team tasked with devising the Lee Jae Myung administration’s policy blueprint.

The remarks followed a growing controversy sparked by a media report earlier this week showing the lawmaker using a mobile trading app during a plenary session at the National Assembly on Monday.

A photograph released by online news outlet The Fact on Tuesday showed the lawmaker appearing to access a stock account registered under the name of his aide, identified only by the surname Cha. The account reportedly held over 100 million won ($71,900) worth of shares in companies including Kakao Pay, Naver and LG CNS — all major tech companies listed on the country's benchmark Kospi.

He was also reportedly photographed accessing the same account in October, during a parliamentary audit session.

Public backlash mounted amid growing speculations that lawmaker Lee might be trading stocks under someone else's name, because Lee had reported in his year-end asset disclosure filed on Dec. 31 that neither he nor any of his family members owned stock.

Lee withdrew from the Democratic Party late Tuesday and resigned as chair of the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee.

The main opposition People Power Party strongly condemned the lawmaker's conduct.

People Power Party spokesperson Rep. Kwak Kyu-taek on Wednesday said, "The fact that someone responsible for overseeing the legislative process and upholding justice is implicated in such an act shakes the ethical foundations of the entire Assembly" in a statement.

Kwak further raised suspicions of insider trading, citing Lee's concurrent role overseeing AI policy at the presidential committee. He noted that Naver and LG CNS — whose shares appeared in the aide's account — were named later that same day as key participants in the government's official AI development initiative.

"Was the Kospi 5,000 goal meant for Rep. Lee alone?" Kwak said in a separate statement, referring to President Lee’s policy drive to usher in a "Kospi 5,000 era." In June, President Lee had also warned that “those who manipulate the stock market will be ruined,” as part of that initiative.

Rep. Song Eon-seog, interim leader of the People Power Party, said the lawmaker's resignation from his legislative post does not resolve the issue, adding that the party would file a complaint with the National Assembly's Ethics Committee and pursue criminal charges against Lee.

The scandal has fueled public anger toward the ruling bloc at a time when investor sentiment was already on edge.

Frustration intensified last week after the government and the Democratic Party unveiled a tax reform plan to tighten capital gains tax rules for large shareholders, sending the Kospi sharply lower on Friday.

In response to the unfolding scandal, the Democratic Party moved swiftly to cut its ties with the lawmaker.

"We were preparing to impose strong disciplinary measures internally, but Rep. Lee preemptively left the party," said party chair Rep. Jung Chung-rae during a Supreme Council meeting at the National Assembly on Wednesday. "Nevertheless, we will proceed with expulsion."

"I will work to restore discipline among lawmakers and ensure that such incidents do not happen again," Jung added.

As of Wednesday, both Lee Choon-suak and his aide had been booked by the Yeongdeungpo Police Station in Seoul. Lee is under investigation for violating the Real Name Financial Transactions Act, while his aide Cha is being investigated for abetting the alleged offense.