Overview
- The Seoul Southern District Court cleared Kim Beom-su, Kakao Corp. and Kakao Entertainment, along with executives Bae Jae-hyun, Hong Eun-taek, Kim Sung-soo and Kang Ho-jung, of violating the Capital Markets Act.
- Judges said Kakao’s trading patterns did not match price-fixing behavior and rejected key testimony from former strategist Lee Joon-ho as unreliable due to investigative pressure.
- Prosecutors had sought a 15-year prison term and a 500 million-won fine for Kim and said they will review the verdict to decide on an appeal.
- Kakao shares rose roughly 5% to as much as about 7% after the decision, with gains also recorded in KakaoBank, KakaoPay and Kakao Games.
- The acquittal reduces immediate regulatory risk to Kakao’s stake in KakaoBank and allows the group to refocus on priorities such as AI and digital finance.