15-year prison term sought for Kakao head Kim Beom-su

Prosecution on Friday sought a 15-year prison term for Kakao founder Kim Beom-su for allegedly attempting to manipulate the price of SM Entertainment’s stock in February 2023, during Kakao’s acquisition of the K-pop management agency. During a hearing session at Seoul Southern District Court, prosecutors sought the prison term and 500 million won ($360,000) in fines for Kim, under suspicion for ordering Kakao Group executives to manipulate SM Entertainment’s stock price to sway the outcome of a bidding race against HYBE. The prosecution argued that Kim, as the head of Kakao Group and its ultimate decision-maker, continued to oppose lawful competitive methods and was ‘‘the ultimate beneficiary of the criminal proceeds.” Kim was arrested in July last year and indicted the following month, but was released on bail in October for health reasons. In March this year, he stepped down from Kakao’s top decision-making council. At the time, Kakao did not disclose his condition, but it was reported that he is suffering from bladder cancer. Under the Capital Markets Act, crimes such asWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times