Kakao founder Kim Beom-su was arrested in 2024 after a Seoul court granted prosecutors’ request for a warrant in a stock-trading case tied to Kakao’s takeover of SM Entertainment. A later trial court acquitted him. As of October 8, 2026, prosecutors’ appeal was still pending, with a ruling scheduled for November 20, 2026.
Why did prosecutors seek an arrest warrant?
On July 22, 2024, Kim Beom-su, also known in English-language reporting as Brian Kim, appeared at the Seoul Southern District Court for a hearing on prosecutors’ request to arrest him. The case arose from Kakao’s 2023 takeover of SM Entertainment, a South Korean music company.
Prosecutors alleged that Kakao-linked purchases of SM shares were intended to keep the share price above the price offered by rival bidder HYBE in its tender offer, frustrating HYBE’s bid. That was the prosecution’s allegation, not a court finding. Yonhap’s July 22 report covered the warrant hearing; later reporting confirmed that the court granted the warrant and Kim was arrested. The warrant itself was not a determination of guilt.
What did prosecutors accuse Kim of?
Prosecutors indicted Kim while he was in custody on August 8, 2024, over alleged conduct surrounding the SM takeover, according to Yonhap. Their case focused on share purchases they said interfered with HYBE’s tender offer. The alleged trading and its purpose remained accusations to be tested in court.
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In 2026, Seoul Economic Daily reported prosecutors’ account that about 110 billion won in SM shares had been bought over three days and that there were more than 300 alleged instances of high-priced purchases or absorption of available supply. These figures describe the prosecution’s allegations as reported by the newspaper; they are not independent findings about the transactions.
What did the trial court decide?
On October 21, 2025, the Seoul Southern District Court acquitted Kim. Yonhap reported that the court found that Kakao’s mass purchases affecting SM’s share price did not, by themselves, establish price manipulation, and that important parts of the prosecution’s theory were insufficient. That was the trial court’s reasoning as reported by Yonhap.
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Why is the case still open?
Prosecutors appealed the acquittal. The latest procedural update available as of October 8, 2026, was Seoul Economic Daily’s September 26 report: the Seoul High Court had scheduled its appeal ruling for 10:20 a.m. on November 20, 2026. The appeal was therefore pending on October 8; no appeal outcome had yet been reported in that update.
At the appeal’s final hearing, prosecutors again requested a 15-year prison term and a 500 million won fine, according to Seoul Economic Daily and The Korea Times. Those were requested penalties, not a sentence or fine imposed by a court.
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How to read the competing accounts
| Question | Prosecutors’ account | Trial-court decision |
|---|---|---|
| What was at issue? | Alleged share trading during Kakao’s 2023 takeover of SM Entertainment. | Whether the prosecution’s case established criminal price manipulation. |
| What was the claimed intent or effect? | Prosecutors alleged the purchases were meant to keep SM’s price above HYBE’s tender-offer price and frustrate its bid. | Yonhap reported the court found that the effect of mass purchases on the share price did not, by itself, establish manipulation, and that important parts of the prosecution’s theory were insufficient. |
| What was the procedural result? | Prosecutors obtained a warrant, indicted Kim, and later appealed the acquittal. | Kim was acquitted at trial in October 2025; the appeal remained pending as of October 8, 2026. |
Kim denied directing illegal conduct in a final statement, according to Seoul Economic Daily’s English-language 2026 report. The paper rendered his statement in English as: “I have held to the belief that corporate growth must follow the law and principles, and I did not direct any illegal act in connection with this case.” This is a reported translation, not a verified verbatim Korean transcript.
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