South Korean court approves arrest warrant for Kakao founder
Kakao founder Kim accused of manipulating SM Entertainment stock to hinder Hybe acquisition
Kim denies accusations, stating no illegal activity was ordered or tolerated
Kakao shares down 24% YTD; regulatory scrutiny may impact AI and expansion plans
By Joyce Lee
SEOUL, July 23 (Reuters) -A South Korean court approved early on Tuesday a prosecution request for a warrant to arrest Brian Kim, the billionaire founder of tech giant Kakao Corp 035720.KS, on accusations of stock manipulation during a 2023 acquisition.
It is the latest legal twist for Kakao after the company and an executive went on trial last year for alleged wrongdoing during the same acquisition.
This is also one of the biggest potential risks faced by Kim, who is seen as a visionary in South Korea's digital industry for building Kakao's group of affiliates - worth a total of 86 trillion won ($62 billion) by assets according to government data - from the ground up since launching its chat app in 2010.
Prosecutors say Kim was involved in manipulation of the stock price of SM Entertainment 041510.KQ in February last year to hinder a competitor, Hybe 352820.KS, from acquiring the K-Pop agency.
Not yet formally charged, Kim has denied the accusations, saying he has never ordered or tolerated any illegal activity, the company said in a statement.
The high-profile tech entrepreneur is the largest shareholder of Kakao Corp, with a stake of 24% controlled by him or affiliated entities.
The Seoul Southern District Court approved the warrant to stem a risk of destroying evidence or absconding, a court official said. The court ruled only on whether a warrant is appropriate, and not on the prosecution's allegations.
Kim's arrest would last up to 20 days, during which prosecutors are expected to investigate further before bringing charges, according to South Korean criminal procedure.
Analysts said the outcome of any case against Kim could also jeopardise Kakao group's control of online bank arm KakaoBank Corp 323410.KS, since the country's financial rules restrict those convicted of financial crime from owning a stake of more than 10% in a bank.
Continued regulatory and social scrutiny is also seen making it tougher for the operator of South Korea's largest chat app to make major decisions on investments in artificial intelligence (AI) and overseas business expansion, they said.
The company plans to introduce new AI services this year.
Kakao Corp shares have fallen 24% year-to-date.
Kim heads a "corporate alignment" council that coordinates the interests of the Kakao group's 128 affiliates and decides what businesses to concentrate on.
($1=1,389.2700 won)
Reporting by Joyce Lee in Seoul;
Editing by Ed Davies, Clarence Fernandez and Matthew Lewis
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Penafian: Entiti XM Group menyediakan perkhidmatan pelaksanaan sahaja dan akses ke Kemudahan Dagangan Atas Talian, yang membolehkan sesorang melihat dan/atau menggunakan kandungan yang ada di dalam atau melalui laman web, tidak bertujuan untuk mengubah atau memperluas, juga tidak mengubah atau mengembangkannya. Akses dan penggunaan tersebut tertakluk kepada: (i) Terma dan Syarat; (ii) Amaran Risiko; dan Penafian Penuh. Oleh itu, kandungan sedemikian disediakan tidak lebih dari sekadar maklumat umum. Terutamanya, perlu diketahui bahawa kandungan Kemudahan Dagangan Atas Talian bukan permintaan, atau tawaran untuk melakukan transaksi dalam pasaran kewangan. Berdagang dalam mana-mana pasaran kewangan melibatkan tahap risiko yang besar terhadap modal anda.
Semua bahan yang diterbitkan di Kemudahan Dagangan Atas Talian kami bertujuan hanya untuk tujuan pendidikan/maklumat dan tidak mengandungi – dan tidak boleh dianggap mengandungi nasihat kewangan, cukai pelaburan atau dagangan dan cadangan, atau rekod harga dagangan kami, atau tawaran, atau permintaan untuk suatu transaksi dalam sebarang instrumen kewangan atau promosi kewangan yang tidak diminta kepada anda.
Sebarang kandungan pihak ketiga serta kandungan yang disediakan oleh XM, seperti pendapat, berita, penyelidikan, analisis, harga, maklumat lain atau pautan ke laman web pihak ketiga yang terdapat dalam laman web ini disediakan berdasarkan "seadanya" sebagai ulasan pasaran umum dan bukanlah nasihat pelaburan. Sesuai dengan apa-apa kandungan yang ditafsir sebagai penyelidikan pelaburan, anda mestilah ambil perhatian dan menerima bahawa kandungan tersebut tidak bertujuan dan tidak sediakan berdasarkan keperluan undang-undang yang direka untuk mempromosikan penyelidikan pelaburan bebas dan oleh itu, ia dianggap sebagai komunikasi pemasaran di bawah peraturan dan undang-undang yang berkaitan. SIla pastikan bahawa anda telah membaca dan memahami Notifikasi mengenai Penyelidikan Pelaburan Bukan Bebas dan Amaran Risiko mengenai maklumat di atas yang boleh diakses di sini.
