SBS employee dismissed for insider trading using non-public Netflix partnership information

An SBS employee is under investigation by financial authorities for allegedly making substantial profits through stock trading based on undisclosed internal information. SBS has officially responded to the situation.

On July 15, an SBS spokesperson told OSEN, “This morning, we were notified by the Financial Services Commission that an investigation is underway into one SBS employee on charges of violating the Capital Markets Act. Upon confirmation, the employee is suspected of using non-public information obtained through their duties to purchase a large volume of SBS shares and gain illicit profits.”

The spokesperson added, “Based on verified facts, the employee has been dismissed, and we will actively cooperate with the Financial Services Commission’s ongoing investigation. We are also committed to enhancing our management systems and strengthening related training to prevent similar incidents from recurring.”

They further stated, “We consider the prompt disclosure and sharing of this information with our employees as a firm demonstration of the company’s strong stance on this matter.”

According to the Financial Services Commission, the employee, identified as A, learned in advance about SBS’s strategic six-year content supply partnership with Netflix at the end of last year. SBS officially announced the partnership on December 20, after which SBS’s stock price surged to its daily limit for several consecutive days.

Capitalizing on the rising stock price, A sold the shares purchased beforehand, reportedly earning profits exceeding hundreds of millions of KRW. Following the discovery of the case, the Financial Services Commission conducted a raid on A’s office at SBS’s Mokdong headquarters in Seoul.