Artist United has released a statement refuting claims of insider trading and clarifying that its largest shareholder, actor Lee Jung Jae, is not under investigation.

This comes after reports that are being investigated by financial authorities over allegations of abuse of non-public information related to its predecessor, Wider Planet, were also made by the company, which made the comments on December 6.

According to AllKpop, Artist United noted in its statement that it had "been informed of some inconvenience" during speculation around the charges but that it was "fully cooperating with the investigation."

The statement noted:

"Our company is currently facing disruptions to normal business operations due to speculation and allegations linking us to illegal activities such as insider trading and unfair transactions."

Artist United said it was assisting authorities in their investigation regarding suspects involved in insider trading, while emphasizing that none of its executives or employees were involved in any illegal activities.

The firm also spoke on past incidents related to Wider Planet (which was previously known and acquired by Lee Jung Jae etc. in December 2023).

Wider Planet's origin company said, "Neither our largest shareholder, Lee Jung Jae, nor Artist Company is a subject of the investigation."

Artist United said that they would take legal measures against anyone responsible for internal problems such as insider trading or information leakage.

On the same day, a local media outlet reported that financial authorities were looking into claims of improper transactions involving Wider Planet.

The report alleged that some groups learned about acquisition plans ahead of time and used the designation of political theme stocks to make a profit by manipulating stock prices.

Even Lee Jung Jae's representative, Artist Company, released a statement clarifying that he has 'never engaged' in any illegal activity during the capital increase of Wider Planet.

"It is true that Wider Planet was subject to an investigation by financial authorities in the past. However, Artist Company and Lee Jung Jae are not part of the investigation," the statement read.

In March 2024, after its invention, Wider Planet became Artist United. This year, it was called "Han Dong Hoon theme stock" because Lee Jung Jae is close to People Power Party leader Han Dong Hoon.

That connection allegedly resulted in an increase of its stock prices by 10 times their value.

Financial authorities are still investigating after both the buyer and seller made claims regarding intermingled transactions.