Seoul, 8 August 2024 (TDI): The technological tycoon from South Korea, Kim Beom-su, better known by his stage name Brian Kim, has been charged with manipulating stock prices.
Executives from Kakao, headed by Mr. Kim, are suspected of purchasing significant stakes in K-pop label SM Entertainment in order to boost the company’s stock price and sabotage a rival takeover bid.
Since his arrest just over two weeks ago, Mr. Kim Beom-su, the founder of the massive online company Kakao has asserted that Mr. Kim did not direct or support any unlawful behavior in a statement made at the time of his detention.
Mr. Kim was charged by the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors’ Office on charges of violating financial market regulations.
According to local media, the trial date will be determined later.
The charges stem from a bidding war that took place prior to Kakao’s acquisition of an approximately 40% controlling stake in K-pop agency SM Entertainment in March of last year.
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According to the prosecution, Mr. Kim Beom-su engaged in a four-day share purchasing frenzy at SM Entertainment with the intention of raising the company’s stock market worth above the grasp of rival bidder Hybe, the agency that represents K-pop sensations BTS.
The South Korean IT sector, which has long regarded Mr. Kim as a visionary internet pioneer, has been rocked by the case.
Since Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong spend 18 months in prison after being found guilty of bribery charges in 2017, he is the most well-known tech leader to be imprisoned in South Korea.
A few family-run businesses, known as chaebols, dominate a large portion of the economy in the nation, and Mr. Kim has become extremely popular due to his ascent from modest beginnings to multibillionaire status.
One of the most prosperous online companies in South Korea today, Kakao, is ascribed to him for its foundation and growth.
Together with an expanding list of other online ventures like gaming, shopping, and banking, Kakao is the operator of the biggest messaging app in South Korea.
Concerns regarding the nation’s increasing dependence on the services of the internet behemoth were raised in 2022 after a fire destroyed Kakao’s servers, causing an outage.
The announcement of Mr. Kim’s indictment came just hours before Kakao revealed operating profits for the second quarter of the year, which increased by 18.5% over the same period the previous year to 134 billion won.
