Samsung is being probed for insider trading. Its stock is up 150% this year

South Korea's Samsung Electronics has found itself at the center of an investigation into possible insider trading related to its acquisition of South Korean robot developer Rainbow Robotics, Korean business daily Yonhap reported. Samsung is one of the best performing stocks this year, with the stock up nearly 150% since early January thanks to a boom in the memory chip market.

According to Yonhap, the Seoul South District Prosecutor's Office has conducted searches at Samsung's headquarters in Suwon as part of an investigation into deals made between 2022 and 2024. Sixteen people are under suspicion, including the CEO and CFO of Rainbow Robotics. The investigation believes they may have made illegal profits of 3 billion to 4 billion won (about $2.6 million), the publication said.

The investigation began after South Korea's Securities and Futures Commission identified indications of possible insider trading and referred the material to prosecutors, MarketWatch noted. It has sent inquiries to Samsung Electronics and the South Korean regulator.

In March 2026, prosecutors searched and seized property at the headquarters of Rainbow Robotics in Daejeon, the Korean edition of Chosun Daily recalls.

Samsung Electronics shares fell 1 percent to 299,000 won at the close of trading on June 11 in Seoul.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor