Kakao Talk: Prosecution demands 15 years for company founder
The founder of the South Korean tech company Kakao is allegedly responsible for extensive share manipulation. The court case will end soon.
(Image: Koshiro K/Shutterstock.com)
The prosecution in the court case against the founder of South Korean tech company Kakao has demanded 15 years in prison for Kim Beom-su. The Korea Times reports this, recalling that the 59-year-old is accused of share manipulation in the course of a takeover battle. According to the news agency, the prosecution has accused him of being the top decision-maker and "ultimate beneficiary of the criminal proceeds" as head of the Kakao Group. According to the report, the law in South Korea actually provides for a maximum prison sentence of 11 years for the alleged offenses, but if the manipulation had a particularly large impact on share prices, it could be increased to 15 years.
Takeover thanks to share manipulation?
Kim was arrested a year ago, and the district court responsible for the arrest warrant feared that he might flee or destroy possible evidence. He was only released on bail for health reasons in October. The company was accused of artificially inflating the share price of Korean music label SM Entertainment together with its management in the previous year as part of a bidding war in order to prevent its takeover by a competitor. One month later, in March 2023, the Kakao Group itself finally became the main shareholder in SM Entertainment.
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With his internet empire Kakao, founded in 2010, Kim Beom-su is considered one of the country's most successful and wealthiest entrepreneurs. His group of companies is best known for the messenger service KakaoTalk, which is by far the most popular instant messenger there, but is also used in many other services. When it went down after a fire in a data center three years ago, it caused chaos across the country, and even the president called for consequences. According to the Korea Times, Kim Beom-su withdrew from the management level of the giant company after his arrest, but he still holds a quarter of the shares and is therefore the largest shareholder.
(mho)
