Kim Beom-su Completes 16-Hour Investigation Over 'Market Manipulation Suspicion'... "I Acted Sincerely"

Kim Beom-su, former chairman of Kakao, is appearing at the Financial Supervisory Service on the 23rd to be investigated regarding allegations of stock price manipulation related to the acquisition of SM Entertainment. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

Regarding the allegations of stock price manipulation of SM Entertainment (SM) by Kakao, Kim Beom-su, the founder of Kakao (Head of the Future Initiative Center), underwent a 15-hour and 40-minute investigation by the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS).

Kim Beom-su appeared at the FSS as a suspect at 10 a.m. the previous day and was questioned until around 1:40 a.m. the following morning. Upon finishing the investigation, he stated, "I participated sincerely in the investigation." He did not provide any specific answers to questions about his stance on the sharp drop in Kakao's stock price.

Before the investigation, when asked by reporters whether he admitted to the stock manipulation charges and how he felt about the claims that Kakao is facing its biggest crisis since its founding, he only responded, "I will participate sincerely in the investigation." He avoided answering questions about whether he had been previously informed of the allegations related to price manipulation.

It is unusual for the FSS's Capital Market Special Judicial Police (Special Judicial Police) to publicly summon a top executive of a large corporation. Earlier, on the 13th, the Special Judicial Police applied for arrest warrants at the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office against three individuals, including Bae Jae-hyun, Kakao's Chief Investment Officer, who was suspected of involvement in SM's stock price manipulation. The court issued an arrest warrant for Bae.

According to the Special Judicial Police, they allegedly invested about 240 billion KRW in February to obstruct the public tender offer by HYBE, SM's rival in the management rights acquisition battle, and raised SM's stock price above HYBE's tender offer price. They are also suspected of violating large shareholder reporting regulations by holding more than 5% of SM's shares without disclosure.

The Special Judicial Police reportedly confirmed that Bae and Kakao's executives communicated via calls and texts regarding the purchase of SM shares. Consequently, the Special Judicial Police focused their questioning on whether Kim Beom-su directly instructed or was informed about the price manipulation allegations. It is anticipated that based on the results of Kim Beom-su's summons investigation, the Special Judicial Police will decide whether to apply for an arrest warrant.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.