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The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) of South Korea raided the office of Kakao Corp. founder Kim Beom Soo amid allegations of manipulating SM Entertainment's stock prices during a high-profile acquisition.
Sources revealed that the raid carried out by a special investigation team operating under the country's FSS occurred on Thursday, Aug. 10. They searched Kim's office at the Kakao headquarters in Pangyo, Seongnam.
According to Yonhap News Agency, Kakao is suspected of stock manipulation involving SM Entertainment's stock prices which allegedly happened earlier this year while the former is in the process of acquiring shares of the entertainment agency that houses some of the big names in the Kpop scene such as Super Junior, Shinee, Girls Generation, EXO, and Aespa.
The raid is the latest development in the FSS's investigations stemming from claims lodged by SM Entertainment's rival, Hybe Co. Ltd, which is managing the boy group superstar, BTS. In February, Hybe filed a petition to investigate the alleged manipulation of SME stock prices.
Hybe competed with Kakao Corp. for the acquisition of management rights of SME. At that time, their bidding war was so heated that intense statements were exchanged.
Kakao ultimately won the battle and acquired a 40% stake in the entertainment company. With the number of shares it now holds, it has become the largest shareholder of SM Entertainment. Hybe also gave up the 14.8% stake initially purchased from SME's founder, Lee Soo Man.
At any rate, the FSS is investigating whether Kakao violated the country's capital market order while trading SME's stocks. From Kim Beom Soo's office, the regulator collected his smartphone and other pieces of evidence.
"We are conducting an investigation into the incident by analyzing diverse data," The Korea Times quoted Lee Bok Hyun, the governor of FSS, as saying. "We are confident about revealing the truth, so the authority will be able to share details soon."
Photo by: Shwangtianyuan/Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
