Kakao Community Executives Standing Trial One After Another... Kim Beom-su's Bail Hearing Today

Senior executives of the Kakao community, who have been indicted on charges including 'SM market manipulation,' are scheduled to appear in court one after another this week. Kim Beom-su, the founder of Kakao and chairman of the Management Innovation Committee, is set to undergo a bail hearing on the 16th.

Kim Beom-su, Chairman of Kakao Management Innovation Committee (Photo by Yonhap News)

According to the legal community, the Seoul Southern District Court Criminal Division 15 (Chief Judge Yang Hwan-seung) will hold the second pretrial conference at 2 p.m. on the same day regarding the case in which Chairman Kim, former Kakao CEO Hong Eun-taek, former Kakao Entertainment CEO Kim Sung-soo, Kakao Investment Strategy Director Kang Ho-jung, and Kakao Entertainment as a corporation have been indicted. Following this, the bail hearing for Chairman Kim will also be conducted.

Chairman Kim, who was detained on July 23, applied for bail on the 10th, requesting to be tried without detention. The bail-related legal representation is handled by Kim & Chang. The initial detention period in the first trial is two months from the date the indictment was filed (August 8), and it can be extended twice for two months each if necessary. The detention period for Chairman Kim has been extended until December 7 by the decision of the presiding court.

Including Chairman Kim, as many as seven senior Kakao officials are scheduled to appear in court this week. Kakao and Kakao Entertainment as corporations have also been indicted. All cases have been assigned to the same court division. On the 18th, a trial will be held for former Kakao CEO Bae Jae-hyun, who, like Chairman Kim, is accused of market manipulation. Although the indictments were filed at different times and received separately, since the matters are essentially the same, the presiding court is considering merging the two cases.

The day before, the first trial was held for former Kakao Entertainment CEO Kim Sung-soo and former Investment Strategy Division Head Lee Junho, who were indicted on charges of violating the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes (breach of trust). They are accused of having Kakao Entertainment acquire the drama production company 'Baram Pictures,' which was in a state of complete capital erosion and was actually owned by former Division Head Lee, for 40 billion KRW, and receiving approximately 1.2 billion KRW in return. However, the defense lawyers for both individuals denied all charges, stating, "We would like to question at what point the price is considered 'excessive' rather than an 'appropriate price.'"