South Korean prosecutors have again asked an appeals court to sentence Kakao founder Kim Beom-su to 15 years in prison over alleged stock-price manipulation during the company’s battle to acquire K-pop agency SM Entertainment.
At a final hearing on Sept. 23, prosecutors also requested a 510 million won fine, or about US$377,000, as they sought to overturn Kim’s acquittal in the lower court. The Seoul High Court is scheduled to deliver its ruling on Nov. 20.
The case stems from Kakao’s efforts in 2023 to gain control of SM Entertainment while competing with HYBE. Prosecutors allege that Kakao and related parties made large-scale purchases of SM shares to keep the stock price above HYBE’s 120,000 won-per-share tender offer, making it harder for HYBE to secure control of the company.
Prosecutors have argued that the purchases involved roughly 240 billion won in SM shares across hundreds of transactions. They say the transactions were part of an effort to interfere with HYBE’s tender offer and ultimately secure Kakao’s acquisition of SM Entertainment. Kakao and Kakao Entertainment eventually secured a 39.9 per cent stake in the K-pop company.
Kim, who is also known as Brian Kim and now heads Kakao’s Future Initiative Center, was arrested in July 2024 and released on bail in October that year. He has consistently denied the allegations, saying he never instructed anyone to engage in illegal activity.
A Seoul Southern District Court acquitted Kim and other defendants in October 2025. The court found that the prosecution had not sufficiently established that the large-scale share purchases constituted stock-price manipulation or that Kim had participated in a conspiracy to manipulate SM’s share price. Prosecutors appealed that decision, arguing that the lower court had misunderstood the facts and misapplied the law.
At Wednesday’s hearing, prosecutors repeated their request for Kim’s 15-year sentence and argued that the first court had failed to properly assess evidence supporting their case. Kim maintained that no evidence showed he had ordered or coordinated illegal stock manipulation.
Prosecutors also sought prison terms for several other defendants, including 12 years for former Kakao investment chief Bae Jae-hyun and nine years for former Kakao Entertainment chief Kim Sung-soo. They requested fines against Kakao and Kakao Entertainment under South Korea’s corporate liability provisions.
The appeals case now moves toward its ruling in November. Until the Seoul High Court issues its decision, Kim remains acquitted of the charges at the first-trial level, while the prosecution continues to challenge that outcome.
