South Korea's regulator to probe Hyundai execs for alleged insider trading

[SEOUL] South Korea's financial regulator is set to probe into stock trades made by Hyundai Motor executives, after allegations they may have used undisclosed information regarding Hyundai's talks with Apple about autonomous vehicle development, a South Korean newspaper reported on Monday.

In February, South Korea's stock exchange began a review of the trades, and the JoonAng Ilbo newspaper reported that those findings have been passed on to the Financial Services Commission (FSC).

Citing an unnamed financial regulatory source, the newspaper said either the FSC or the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) will lead the investigation into insider trading, which often takes as long as six months.

The FSC and the FSS said they cannot confirm the report.

Hyundai did not have an immediate comment when reached by Reuters.

Shares of Hyundai jumped 21 per cent between its initial confirmation in early January that it was having talks with Apple, and an announcement on Feb 8 that the talks were off.

After the initial domestic media report on the possible tie up with Apple on Jan 8, a dozen Hyundai executives traded about 3,400 shares, worth about 833 million won (S$993,345), according to Reuters calculations based on the company's regulatory filings.

Hyundai Motor shares were down 1.1 per cent on Monday, while the broader market Kospi was trading flat.

REUTERS