SEOUL, Sept 23 (Reuters) – South Korean prosecutors asked an appeals court on Wednesday to sentence Kakao Corp founder Kim Beom-su to 15 years in jail on stock manipulation charges linked to the acquisition of a Kpop agency, Yonhap News Agency reported.
Prosecutors are seeking to overturn a lower court ruling last year that cleared Kim of the charges, Yonhap said. They also asked the court to impose a fine of 510 million won ($377,000).
The appeals court is due to issue its ruling at a later date.
The tech tycoon, also known as Brian Kim, was arrested in July 2024 on charges of involvement in manipulating the share price of SM Entertainment in 2023 to prevent a competitor, Hybe, from acquiring it. He was released on bail in October 2024.
Kakao declined to comment on the prosecutors’ request.
Kim has denied the allegations, saying he never ordered nor tolerated any illegal activity, the company said previously.
Kim rose to prominence in South Korea’s digital industry after building Kakao and its affiliates from the ground up since launching the popular messaging app KakaoTalk in 2010.
Kakao shares fell 1.3% in Seoul trading as of 0524 GMT.
($1 = 1,355.0000 won)
(Reporting by Heejin KimEditing by Ed Davies)
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