Na Kyung-won files CPC complaint against 'ETF fraud trio' over W54tr in investor losses

People Power Party lawmaker Na Kyung-won announced Friday that she would file a complaint with the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials against three financial regulators she has dubbed the "ETF national fraud trio" — Kim Yong-beom, FSS Governor Lee Chan-jin and FSC Chairman Lee Eok-won — over what she described as 54 trillion won ($39.7 billion) in losses suffered by retail investors.

Na held a press conference at the National Assembly alongside fellow People Power Party lawmakers Kim Tae-gyu and Yun Yong-geun, saying she was filing the complaint on charges including fraud under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes, as well as abuse of authority, dereliction of duty and conflicts of interest.

Na said that at 10:30 a.m. Sunday she had held a National Assembly press conference demanding answers about who was behind the hasty introduction of leveraged ETF products, and calling for a parliamentary investigation, a special prosecutor and the resignation of the three officials. The Lee Jae Myung administration then announced a sweeping reshuffle of six ministries at 11:30 a.m., just one hour later. "Yet the names of the ETF trio, who should have been the first to step down and take responsibility, were conspicuously absent from that list," she said. "It was a patchwork reshuffle that left out the very people who matter most."

"This is not a case of investment failure attributable to individual investors," Na added. "Asset losses of 54 trillion won and the reckless introduction of leveraged ETF products are cited as the main causes. Economic and financial chiefs colluded with large capital interests to push ordinary citizens into a state-engineered, ultra-high-risk gambling den — this is state-sponsored fraud."

Na called on all three officials to resign immediately. "Starting with today's complaint filing, cooperate in uncovering the truth behind the 54 trillion won in losses the public has suffered," she said. "That is the only way to wipe away the tears of the Korean people."