Founder of South Korean internet conglomerate arrested for manipulating stock prices
In South Korea, the founder of Internet giant Kakao, Kim Beom Su, was arrested on suspicion of stock manipulation. The court justified the arrest in the early hours of Tuesday with the risk of flight and the risk of evidence destruction. Kim denied the allegations.
He founded Kakao in 2010 - the company is present in the daily life of almost all residents: KakaoTalk is the most important messenger app in South Korea, installed on over 90 percent of all smartphones. Along with this are services such as city maps, online payment, taxi call, streaming, and games. The company also owns music studios and record labels.
Last year, Kakao became the largest individual shareholder of agency SM Entertainment with the purchase of a total of 39.87 percent of the shares. The company is suspected of buying the shares in 553 batches and at an excessively high price - all to exclude the competitor HYBE, the agency of the successful boy group BTS. HYBE had already acquired a 14.8 percent stake in SM Entertainment - planned to acquire more shares, but gave up due to the high price.
Despite the accusations of course manipulations surrounding the acquisition of SM Entertainment shares, Kim Beom Su, the founder of the Internet conglomerate Kakao, has remained steadfast in his denial of any wrongdoing. The destruction of proof related to this allegation could potentially complicate the ongoing investigation.
