[Alpha Biz=(Chicago) Reporter Kim Jisun] Controversy is brewing as Ahn Se-jin, CEO of Lotte Future Strategy Research Institute, who purchased the company's shares twice this year as part of responsible management, used the shares for lending transactions.

Large stock trading, which lends shares to institutions such as securities firms for commissions, is usually used for short selling that earns profits when stock prices fall. It seems inevitable that CEO Ahn's major stock deal is a serious moral hazard that disrupts the capital market, as a key manager of the company participated in a short sale that could violate shareholders' interests.

According to BLOTER on the 6th, on the 14th of last month, CEO Ahn's stock count decreased from 38,326 shares to 2,033 shares. Previously, CEO Ahn purchased 10,500 and 27,826 shares on February 3 and August 11, respectively.

This is the amount purchased after CEO Ahn was appointed as the head of Lotte Future Strategy Institute through a regular executive appointment at the end of last year. On this day, there were no additional details such as selling or potatoes in the remarks column about Ahn's stock decline. An official of the Korea Exchange said, "There is no obligation to explain the reason for the change in the number of shares."

Four days later, on the 21st of last month, CEO Ahn re-acquired 56,550 shares and owned a total of 58,583 shares. Ahn's increase in shares was recorded in the remarks column as a "repayment of loan shares."

An official from Lotte Holdings said, "The reason the stocks decreased on the 14th of last month was because CEO Ahn used the lending transaction service," and added, "Repayment of the loaned stocks means that the lent stocks were received again." Based on the closing price of the day, the stocks lent by CEO Ahn for the lending transaction are worth about 1 billion won.

 

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