[Special Stock] Kakao Group Stocks Fall Together on Kim Beom-su's Arrest... Kakao Down 4%

The stock price of Kakao Group shares is showing a concurrent decline following the detention of founder and Management Innovation Committee Chairman Kim Beom-su.

Kakao founder and Management Innovation Committee Chairman Beom-su Kim, considered the pinnacle of the 'SM market manipulation' suspicion, is attending the pre-arrest detention hearing at the Southern District Court in Yangcheon-gu, Seoul on the 22nd. Photo by Hyun-min Kim kimhyun81@

As of 11:30 a.m. on the 23rd, Kakao is trading at 39,150 won, down 4.51% from the previous day. Other Kakao affiliates such as Kakao Bank (-1.42%), Kakao Games (-4.85%), and Kakao Pay (-6.51%) are also falling.

The day before, Judge Han Jeong-seok of the Seoul Southern District Court, who is in charge of warrants, held a pre-trial detention hearing for Kim, who is accused of violating the Capital Markets Act, and issued an arrest warrant.

Kim is suspected of manipulating the market to obstruct the public tender offer by competitor HYBE during his acquisition of management rights of SM Entertainment in February last year.