A court issued a warrant for the arrest of Kakao founder Kim Beom-su Tuesday on charges of stock price manipulation.
The Seoul Southern District Court stated that there are reasonable grounds to believe that the suspect may attempt to escape or destroy evidence.
Kim attended a 3.5-hour court hearing on Monday two weeks after being questioned by prosecutors about his alleged involvement in Kakao’s inflation of SM Entertainment’s shares.
The Seoul Southern District Prosecutor’s Office accused Kim of violating the Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act and requested the warrant last Wednesday.
Kakao ultimately came out as the winner in the takeover, allowing it and subsidiary Kakao Entertainment to jointly secure a 39.87 percent stake in SM Entertainment.
BY CHO YONG-JUN [cho.yongjun1@joongang.co.kr]
