North Korean tech magnate, Kim Beom-su, who is also known as Brian Kim, has been indicted on charges of property value adjustment.
Kakao executives under the leadership of Mr. Kim have been accused of purchasing significant amounts of property in K-pop business SM Entertainment to slash its stock price and stifle a competing offer to buy the business.
Since being detained merely over two weeks ago, Mr. Kim, who founded the online company Kakao, has been in custody.
Kakao claimed that Mr. Kim did not impose any laws or handle any unlawful behavior in a statement released shortly after his arrest.
Mr. Kim was charged under a charge of breaking economic industry regulations by the Seoul Southern District Lawyers ‘ Office.
The test date will be set at a later period, according to local reports.
The allegations relate to a bidding war that occurred before Kakao purchased SM Entertainment’s almost 40 % stake in the company in March of last year.
According to the prosecution, Mr. Kim allegedly participated in a four-day stock market price increase for SM Entertainment, which was pushed by a rival bid, Hybe, the studio that produced K-pop stars like BTS.
South Korea’s tech sector, which has longer viewed Mr. Kim as a revolutionary internet pioneer, has been shocked by the case.
Since Lee Jae-yong, the head of Samsung Electronics, was found guilty in 2017 on corruption charges and sentenced to 18 months in jail for it, he is the most well-known it executive in South Korea.
Mr Kim’s fall from humble origins to become a multi-billionaire has made him enormously popular in a state where a couple family-run companies, known as chaebols, control much of the business.
He is credited with foundation and expanding Kakao, which is now one of South Korea’s most successful online businesses.
The largest messaging apps in South Korea is run by Kakao, along with a growing list of other online retailers that offer entertainment, shopping, and banking services.
In 2022, a Kakao outage caused by a fire that damaged its servers raised concerns about how reliant the country had become on the technology giant’s services.
Kakao reported operating profits of 134 billion won for the second quarter of the year, an 18.5 % increase over the same period last year, just hours before Mr. Kim’s indictment was announced.
Jake Kwon provided extra monitoring in Seoul.