Seoul: Financial authorities announced that they have decided to refer four former executives and one employee of Meritz Fire and Insurance Co. to the prosecution over suspicions of using insider information for profit-taking.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the Securities and Futures Commission under the Financial Services Commission (FSC) reached this decision at a regular meeting held the previous day. The former executives allegedly purchased a significant number of shares in Meritz Financial Group before the holding company announced plans in November 2022 to merge two of its affiliates, Meritz Securities Co. and Meritz Fire and Insurance Co.

The former executives reportedly each made over 500 million won (approximately US$359,761) as the share prices of the holding company surged to the daily upper limit following the merger announcement. The FSC suspects these individuals were privy to the merger plans before the official announcement and strategically bought shares in advance to sell at a higher price.

"Employees at financial firms are held to a higher standard of ethics. We plan to thoroughly investigate cases of employees at financial firms using undisclosed information," the FSC stated.