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Repair common Windows errors and clear accumulated junk for a smoother, more stable PC - no reinstall needed.Free scan · no reinstallIn July 2024, South Korean prosecutors sought an arrest warrant for Kakao founder Kim Beom-su over alleged stock-price manipulation during Kakao’s contest with HYBE to acquire SM Entertainment. The Seoul Southern District Court issued the warrant after a hearing, reportedly citing a risk of evidence destruction. Kim was later indicted and denied wrongdoing. A trial court acquitted him in October 2025; prosecutors appealed, and as of October 8, 2026, the appeal was pending with a decision scheduled for November 20, 2026.
Why did prosecutors seek an arrest warrant?
The warrant request grew out of the 2023 contest between Kakao and HYBE for control of SM Entertainment. Prosecutors alleged Kakao bought SM shares at prices above HYBE’s tender offer in order to frustrate HYBE’s bid. Yonhap reported that prosecutors alleged purchases totaling 240 billion won across 553 occasions. Those figures and the alleged purpose describe the prosecution’s case, not conduct established by a final judgment.
HYBE had acquired a 14.8 percent stake from SM founder Lee Su-man and made a tender offer at 120,000 won per share. HYBE later withdrew its offer after the share price rose, according to Yonhap’s July 2024 account. Kakao and Kakao Entertainment became SM’s controlling shareholder in March 2023 after acquiring a reported 39.87 percent stake.
Prosecutors sought the warrant on July 17, 2024. The Seoul Southern District Court issued it on July 23 after a hearing; Yonhap reported that the court cited the risk that evidence could be destroyed. An arrest warrant authorizes detention during criminal proceedings. It is not a finding of guilt.
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What happened after the warrant?
Indictment and denial
Kim was indicted under detention on August 8, 2024, on charges of violating South Korea’s Capital Markets Act. He denied directing or condoning illegal acts. Yonhap quoted him saying, “I believe the truth will eventually be revealed, because I have never instructed or condoned any illegal acts.”
Trial-court acquittal
On October 21, 2025, the Seoul Southern District Court acquitted Kim. As Yonhap reported, the court said the volume of purchases alone did not establish manipulation, and the intervals between purchases made it difficult to conclude that Kakao intended to hold the share price above the market price. The court also found the prosecution had not sufficiently established that acquiring SM was essential to Kakao and rejected a key witness’s testimony as false.
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Those were the trial court’s reported findings on the evidence before it. They did not end the case because prosecutors appealed.
Appeal and next scheduled step
Prosecutors appealed on October 28, 2025, arguing that the trial court made factual and legal errors, according to Yonhap. At the final appellate hearing on September 23, 2026, prosecutors again requested 15 years in prison and a 500 million won fine. That was a sentencing request, not a sentence imposed by a court. Kim maintained that he had not directed illegal conduct.
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The Seoul High Court scheduled its decision for November 20, 2026, as reported by Yonhap. As of October 8, 2026, that ruling was still in the future, so the appeal’s outcome remained unresolved.
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The central distinction is procedural: prosecutors’ allegations led to detention and an indictment, but the trial court acquitted Kim, and prosecutors are challenging that result on appeal. Neither the warrant nor the indictment proves the alleged scheme occurred. The trial court’s acquittal is the latest ruling as of October 8, 2026, but it is not yet the final appellate outcome.
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For investors following the case, keep the reported transaction figures in context: 240 billion won, 553 purchase occasions and the 120,000-won tender price were reported as part of the prosecution’s account of events. The appeal concerns whether the acquittal should stand; the scheduled ruling date is November 20, 2026.
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