The Kyunghyang Shinmun reported that current and former reporters suspected of using coverage to pump certain stocks and taking part in price manipulation were referred to prosecutors after a police probe. Using media credibility to disrupt markets makes the matter grave.

Investigators reportedly examined whether they used nonpublic information or favorable coverage to influence prices and reaped improper gains—a textbook conflict-of-interest case entangling reporting and private profit.

When media influence is abused in capital markets, investor harm and erosion of market trust occur together, prompting calls for strict accountability on both reporting ethics and market discipline.

As a newspaper that holds independence and fairness as core values, this paper treats the case as an alarm bell for journalistic ethics. Facts and private gain can never be mixed.