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Special Counsel Min Jung-gi speaks during the opening ceremony of his office at KT Gwanghwamun Building in Seoul on July 2. / Source: Yonhap News

Special Counsel Min Jung-gi apologized Monday for public controversy over his past personal stock transactions but denied any wrongdoing, saying the trades were legal and unrelated to his current investigation.

“I sincerely apologize for the controversy surrounding my personal stock trading,” Min said in a written statement on October 20. “There was no illegality in either the acquisition or sale of the shares. I also believe my personal matters from 15 years ago must not affect the integrity of the ongoing special counsel investigation. I will continue to fulfill my duty quietly.”

Min also expressed condolences over the recent death of an official from Yangpyeong County who had been questioned by the special counsel’s team. “I extend my deepest sympathy to the bereaved family,” he said.

Min has faced allegations that in 2010, while serving as a presiding judge at the Seoul High Court, he sold unlisted shares of the solar materials company Neosemitech just before the firm was delisted, allegedly earning over 100 million won in profit.

Neosemitech’s shares were suspended on March 24, 2010, after its auditor refused to issue an opinion, and the company was delisted that August following revelations of accounting fraud. More than 7,000 individual investors reportedly lost about 400 billion won, and company CEO Oh was sentenced to 11 years in prison in 2016.

Min’s ties to Oh—his high school and college classmate—sparked criticism that he may have benefited from insider information. The controversy drew renewed attention after it emerged that First Lady Kim Keon-hee had once invested in the same stock, raising questions about a potential conflict of interest between the special counsel and his investigation targets.

During Kim’s questioning in August, her own special counsel team reportedly mentioned her 2009 investment in Neosemitech’s bond with warrants (BW), even though it was not part of her indictment. Investigators suspected she may have received preferential access to short-sell shares before the company’s listing.

Min has maintained that he sold his stock on the advice of a brokerage employee. The Kim Keon-hee special counsel team said, “Mr. Min invested about 30 to 40 million won in the early 2000s through a friend’s introduction, and sold the shares in 2010 for around 130 million won following a securities firm employee’s recommendation.”