[Yonhap News] HSBC Acquitted of 'Illegal Short Selling Worth KRW16 Billion'..."No Evidence"

On February 11, 2025, Yonhap News reported that HSBC (The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited), represented by Lee & Ko, was acquitted by a Korean court of charges related to violations of Korea’s capital markets laws for allegedly engaging in illegal short selling worth KRW 16 billion.

According to Yonhap News, the court acknowledged that while Korea’s short-selling regulations require stocks to be borrowed, or their availability confirmed, before executing a short sale, HSBC’s system only verified borrowability retrospectively. However, the court ultimately ruled that there was no evidence proving that the bank’s employees knowingly engaged in naked short selling in violation of regulations.