On the 21st, the Seoul Southern District Court's Criminal Agreement Division 15, led by Judge Yang Hwan-seung, found Kim not guilty of violating the Capital Markets Act. The court stated, "It is difficult to recognize the intent of market manipulation or collusion with Kakao," dismissing the prosecution's claims.
The court acknowledged that while Kakao did purchase a large amount of SM shares during the public tender offer period, this alone does not constitute market manipulation. The court further explained, "For market manipulation charges to be valid, deceptive methods must be involved, which were not sufficiently proven in this case."
The testimony of Lee Jun-ho, former head of Kakao Entertainment's investment strategy division, was also not accepted as key evidence by the prosecution. Lee claimed to have overheard a conversation between Kim, former Kakao investment chief Bae Jae-hyun, and Ji Chang-bae, CEO of One Asia Partners, via speakerphone. However, the court found the testimony "unusual in content and context, raising doubts about its credibility."
Regarding the prosecution's claim that One Asia colluded with Kakao to manipulate stock prices, the court concluded, "The evidence does not sufficiently prove the intent of collusion or market manipulation."
A statement by Kim, allegedly instructing to "peacefully acquire SM," was also a point of contention. The prosecution interpreted this as a directive for stock manipulation, but the court noted, "There is no direct testimony of hearing this statement, and it can reasonably be interpreted as a call to peacefully resolve disputes with HYBE."
Conversations between former chief Bae and former Kakao investment strategy director Kang Ho-jung were also scrutinized. The court found no evidence of intent to obstruct HYBE's public tender offer or artificially inflate stock prices.
In a previous trial, the prosecution had sought a 15-year prison sentence and a 5 billion won fine for Kim Beom-su, along with 12 years for former chief Bae and 10 years for CEO Ji Chang-bae. Sentences ranging from 7 to 9 years were also sought for other current and former Kakao executives. However, Kim and other key figures, including former chief Bae, were acquitted in the first trial.
Choi Ji-ye, Ten Asia Reporter wisdomart@tenasia.co.kr