[Yonhap Photo]
SEOUL -- Eight officials from the brokerage arm of South Korea's largest Samsung conglomerate have been indicted to stand trial for selling "ghost" stocks paid to employees as dividends in a fat-finger error, prosecutors said Monday.
Under a stock ownership plan, Samsung Securities had planned to pay cash dividends of 1,000 won (0.94 US dollars) to 2,018 employees on April 6, but shares were paid due to a keyboard entry mistake.
Of 21 employees involved in the scandal, prosecutors indicted eight on charges of fraudulent trading, breach of trust and violating a capital market law, including three who were formally arrested and five who will stand trial without being detained. They were accused of selling shares worth up to 51.1 billion won ($45.9 million).
Prosecutors decided not to bring charges against 11 employees because the amount of money involved was relatively small, while two others were cleared of charges.
Those indicted were accused of selling shares quickly to gain profits, knowing that they were issued by mistake. The unprecedented mistake sparked concerns about the credibility of securities firms. Financial regulators said the case revealed a "serious" problem in the internal trading system of Samsung Securities and "moral hazard" among employees.
reporter
Lim Chang-won
cwlim34@ajunews.com
