Prosecutors Confirm Kakao's Typical Price Manipulation via 'High-Price Buying and Volume Exhaustion'... Kim Beom-su Summoned Two Days in a Row

The prosecution summoned Kim Beom-su, Chairman of Kakao's Management Innovation Committee, who was detained on suspicion of market manipulation involving SM Entertainment, for questioning two days in a row. They are expected to focus on whether Kim approved the suspected market manipulation activities, such as high-priced purchases and volume depletion orders, which were confirmed during the earlier investigation.

On the 25th, the Financial Investigation Division 2 of the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Jang Dae-gyu) began questioning Chairman Kim, who is detained at the Seoul Southern Detention Center, from around 2 p.m. This is the second summons following the previous day.

Kakao founder and Management Innovation Committee Chairman Beom-su Kim, considered the pinnacle of the 'SM market manipulation' suspicion, is attending the pre-arrest suspect interrogation (warrant hearing) held at the Southern District Court in Yangcheon-gu, Seoul on the 22nd. Photo by Hyun-min Kim kimhyun81@

Regarding the suspicion of market manipulation of SM's stock price by Kakao, three individuals have been detained: former Kakao Chief Investment Officer Bae Jae-hyun, CEO of One Asia Partners Ji Chang-bae, who were previously indicted, and now Chairman Kim. A representative from the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office stated, "It is not simply illegal to buy shares on the market during a public tender offer period, but we have explained through evidence that (Kakao) chose methods of market manipulation," adding, "We fiercely contested during the hearings for the three detention warrants, and all three were issued." They further emphasized, "Typical methods of market manipulation such as high-priced purchases and volume depletion orders were confirmed, and sufficient physical and human evidence was secured."

The prosecution believes that Kakao manipulated the market over four days?February 16, 17, 27, and 28 of last year?while competing with HYBE to acquire SM. However, the detention warrant request for Chairman Kim only includes allegations of market manipulation on February 28, excluding the conspiracy with One Asia Partners related to the earlier dates. Regarding this, a representative from the Southern District Prosecutors' Office explained, "Only direct evidence that is clear was included in the warrant request, but the rest is being thoroughly investigated to clarify the facts," adding, "Chairman Kim is listed as a suspect for all the earlier dates as well."

In response to reactions that the court's issuance of a detention warrant for Chairman Kim, a head of a large corporation, citing 'risk of flight' is unusual, the representative said, "It is not unusual at all," and explained, "We sufficiently explained the seriousness of the crime and concerns about flight and evidence destruction." Regarding the conspiracy allegations with One Asia Partners, they expressed confidence, saying, "We have secured evidence of circumstances indicating collusion among the parties involved, and have comprehensively identified the process and dates involving the massive amounts of money invested."

The prosecution plans to indict Chairman Kim before the maximum detention period of 20 days expires. A representative from the Southern District Prosecutors' Office stated, "We will do our best to prove the charges during the detention period," and added, "We will conduct the investigation according to law and principles."

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