The South Korean stock exchange will begin an investigation to determine if Hyundai executives used undisclosed information to trade shares in the carmaker in the midst of reports of its possible partnership with Apple.
Hyundai shares jumped from 192,000 South Korean won on December 30, 2020 and reached a high of 267,500 won on January 11, 2021, following media reports that the company was engaged in talks with Apple to potentially build its forthcoming electric vehicle. While shares have since dropped following Hyundai’s announcement that talks had ended, they are still trading at 237,500 won.
Auto News reports that 12 executives from Hyundai have traded about 3,400 shares, worth roughly 833 million won ($753,000), since the January 8 report about the potential Hyundai-Apple tie-up.
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Top financial regulator Eun Sung-soo, the chairman of the Financial Services Commission, revealed to a local parliament committee that the review may begin next week.
“Reviews are to examine whether there is any suspicion (of wrongdoing) or not,” a spokeswoman from the Financial Services Commission confirmed. “The length of such reviews varies with each case, and the exchange will communicate findings to the FSC.”
Confirmation of the Apple car project being restarted only came towards the end of December 2020 and by early January, it was reported that Hyundai was the frontrunner to partner with the world’s most valuable company. In fact, the carmaker confirmed it was engaged in discussions with Apple and at one stage, it was reported that Hyundai would transfer the partnership to Kia. Last week the two automakers announced that talks about a partnership had come to a close.
