The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) concluded in a report investigating pharmaceutical company Genencell’s COVID-19 drug development process from 2020–2021 that there were “unfair practices” aimed at inflating stock prices. This period predates October 2021, when Genencell approached Yang, a broker, to seek clinical trial approval from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety via Kim Seung-won, a nominee for Minister of Justice (then a Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker). The FSS found that Genencell promoted the false claim of receiving clinical trial approval for a COVID-19 treatment in India, which was later deemed exaggerated, and viewed it as an attempt to boost the stock price of Philooks, a company that had invested in Genencell.
According to a report obtained by People Power Party lawmaker Shin Dong-wook’s office on September 14, the FSS’s investigation planning bureau concluded in September 2020 that Genencell’s claim of receiving clinical trial approval in India for a COVID-19 treatment was false. In a January 2023 report, the FSS stated, “After reviewing clinical trial records from India’s Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO), Genencell’s drug was not even under consideration for approval.”
Amid this, Kang, the founder of Genencell, was invited to an event hosted by Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Jeon Hye-sook in September 2022, where he presented the COVID-19 drug’s achievements. Kang had conducted clinical trials on 93 people in South Korea...
The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) concluded in a report investigating pharmaceutical company Genencell’s COVID-19 drug development process from 2020–2021 that there were “unfair practices” a...