'Oh Se-hoon theme stocks' surge to daily limit after acquittal

Stocks loosely associated with Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon surged to the daily price limit immediately after he was acquitted on appeal Friday.

According to Korea Exchange, shares of Jinyang Chemical, Jinyang Industry and Jinyang Poly hit the daily ceiling after the verdict was announced, each jumping 29.81 percent from the previous session.

The three stocks are regularly cited in the market as "Oh Se-hoon theme stocks." Jinyang Chemical had already hit the daily limit after Oh won the Seoul mayoral race in June, with Jinyang Industry and Jinyang Poly also rising in tandem at the time.

In practice, however, the companies have no significant ties to Oh. They were grouped together as "Oh Se-hoon theme stocks" simply because their founders attended the same university as the mayor. The shares also fell sharply on July 22, when the first-instance verdict was handed down.

The Jinyang companies have stated that they have no direct connection to Oh. Regardless of such clarifications, the stocks continue to swing sharply as theme plays, and investors are advised to exercise caution.

Oh was acquitted at the appeals court Friday, reversing his first-instance conviction. The Seoul High Court's Criminal Division 7, presided over by Judge Gu Hoe-geun, found Oh not guilty on charges of violating the Political Funds Act. His aide Kang Cheol-won, a former senior political affairs secretary of the Seoul Metropolitan Government, and businessman Kim Han-jeong, a longtime supporter who was indicted alongside Oh, were also acquitted.

The appeals court ruled that it had not been sufficiently proven that Oh received polling results 10 times from Myung Tae-gyun ahead of the April 7, 2021 Seoul mayoral by-election and arranged for Kim — described as a longtime supporter — to cover the 33 million won ($24,900) cost on his behalf.