Samsung BioLogics Co., a biopharmaceutical business arm of South Korea’s top conglomerate Samsung Group, publicly criticized the country’s financial regulator for disclosing “unconfirmed and sensitive” information about the possibility of its breach in accounting rules, a news that wiped out the stock’s value by 8 trillion won ($7.4 billion) last week.

Samsung BioLogics in a statement on Tuesday said it was informed of the preliminary finding from the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) on May 1 and also received a notice two days after about keeping the information confidential while procedures were underway.

Yet it was the FSS that leaked the information to the press, the company claimed, leading to a slew of hyped and speculative reports that caused unrest in the market. The stock lost 26.3 percent for three trading days last week with rumors about the possibility of the stock going delisted.

Samsung BioLogics slightly recovered Tuesday, closing up 3.06 percent at 370,500 won. The market was closed on Monday.

The complaint comes after the company warned of taking legal actions against the government.

The FSS last week said it reached a preliminary conclusion on a breach of accounting rules after probing Samsung BioLogics for a year, accusing the company of inflating the value of its biosimliar unit Samsung Bioepis ahead of its initial public offering in 2015.

The company immediately denied the allegations, saying it followed accounting procedures under guidance by outside auditors and no profits were made through accounting changes. The probe was prompted after a civilian group questioned the sudden improvement in the bottom line of the biosimilar maker after incurring losses in the past years before the parent company went public.

The Financial Services Commission will hold its first meeting on May 17 to deliberate the case and refer it to the final decision-making Securities and Futures Commission.

By Shin Chan-ok and Lee Eun-joo

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