[Alpha Biz=(Chicago) Reporter Kim Jisun] The Financial Supervisory Service's Capital Market Special Judicial Police said on the 13th that they have applied for an arrest warrant with the management of Kakao and Kakao Entertainment on charges of manipulating SM Entertainment's market price.

In response, the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office sought an arrest warrant for Bae Jae-hyun, head of Kakao's investment strategy division, and head of Kakao Entertainment's investment strategy division.

According to the Capital Market Special Judicial Police, they spent about 240 billion won to collect the stock price of SM Entertainment above the public purchase price of HYBE with the aim of preventing the public purchase of HYBE, which was a competitor at the time of the dispute over SM Entertainment's acquisition of management rights in February this year. The Capital Market Special Judicial Police found that they did not report stock holdings (5% report).

The Financial Supervisory Service has been investigating the case, viewing it as a price manipulation. Prosecutors and special judicial police raided the offices of Kakao and Kakao Entertainment in April and raided the offices of Kakao founder Kim Beom-soo in August.

In September, Hong Eun-taek, CEO of Kakao, Bae, CEO of investment, and Kim Sung-soo, CEO of Kakao Entertainment, were summoned for questioning.

"The case was a legitimate purchase of in-house stocks to secure a stake in the process of competing with HYBE to take over SM Entertainment, and we never manipulated the market," Kakao's lawyers said.

 

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