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[Apha Biz=(Chicago) Reporter Paul Lee] The Financial Supervisory Service has launched an investigation into allegations that Daewoong Pharmaceutical delivered its opinion to SK Securities not to publish a positive report on its rival Medytox.
The Financial Supervisory Service is currently investigating SK Securities for violations of the Capital Markets Act.
According to the e-Daily report on the 16th, the Financial Supervisory Service's Financial Investment Inspection Bureau's permanent monitoring team summoned the head of SK Securities' research center and the analyst in charge of Medytox earlier this week for the first meeting.
It was reportedly asked about facts such as whether there was an unfair trade between Daewoong Pharmaceutical and SK Securities, why the issue was raised, and whether there was such suspicion of "request" before. The Financial Supervisory Service will soon decide whether to launch a full-fledged investigation after making internal decisions.
The investigation was triggered by a media article. Earlier on the 11th, Yonhap Infomax reported that Daewoong Pharmaceutical's executives met with SK Securities and conveyed their opinion not to issue a report defending Medytox. No review report has been published on the actual results of Medytox in the second quarter. According to the article, under pressure from Daewoong Pharmaceutical, SK Securities ordered its analyst not to submit a positive report on Medytox.
The Financial Supervisory Service will soon decide whether to launch further investigations into SK Securities and whether it constitutes a violation of the Capital Market Act. The Financial Supervisory Service says it will go through a close internal review as the case is unusual in the existing capital market.
The Financial Supervisory Service plans to closely conduct an internal review and conduct a second round of investigations in the future as the act of preventing the publication of competitors' reports is an unusual case that has never been seen in the capital market. However, even if the act turns out to be true, Daewoong Pharmaceutical will not be included in the punishment list because it is not a financial investment company subject to supervision by the Financial Supervisory Service.
AlphaBIZ 폴 리(hoondork1977@alphabiz.co.kr)
