Factbox: Who is Kim Beom-su, founder of South Korean tech giant Kakao?
24/07/2024 05:38
SEOUL, July 24 (Reuters) - South Korean authorities
arrested Kim Beom-su, the billionaire founder of tech giant
Kakao Corp 035720.KS , on Tuesday on accusations of stock
manipulation during the acquisition of a K-Pop agency last year.
Here are some facts about Kim and the conglomerate that
dominates South Korea's tech scene.
*Founder Kim, who is also known as Brian Kim, is regarded by
the industry as a rags-to-riches visionary. He grew up in
poverty, sharing a single room with seven members of his family
at one point, and now has a net worth of about $3.4 billion,
according to Forbes. He is 58 years old.
*Kim is currently detained in a solitary cell, 1.4 square
metres (15 square feet) big, at Seoul Nambu Detention Centre,
South Korean media reported.
*Kim founded South Korea's first online game portal Hangame
in 1998. He and his partners launched the KakaoTalk app in 2010,
and the free messaging service took mobile users by storm a year
later when smartphones began to proliferate in South Korea.
* KakaoTalk gradually introduced services such as emojis,
helping it attract thousands of users. It is now South Korea's
dominant chat platform, with 48 million monthly active users as
of the first quarter of 2024, boasting a 93% penetration rate in
South Korea's 52 million population.
*In 2014, Kakao merged with internet search portal operator,
Daum, in a deal that valued Kakao at about $3.1 billion and
resulted in a backdoor listing.
*Leveraging KakaoTalk's massive user base since, the company
has expanded into services including advertising, games, music
streaming, entertainment, shopping, payments, online banking,
and transport.
*Kakao has seen its number of affiliates grow from 26
companies in 2014 to 124 companies in 2024.
*Kakao's group of affiliates are worth 86 trillion won ($62
billion) by assets according to South Korea's Fair Trade
Commission.
*The conglomerate has added to its war chest and paid off
investors via IPOs, listing Kakao Games 293490.KQ in 2020,
KakaoBank 323410.KS and KakaoPay 377300.KS in 2021.
*Kakao's mobility unit holds a more than 90% market share in
South Korea's taxi-hailing market. In November 2023, South
Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said the service was monopolistic
and called for a review.
*A data centre fire in October 2022 knocked out some
KakaoTalk and related services for up to several days and
sparked public concern over how much government agencies and
private companies rely on the app.
*In March 2023, Kakao Corp and affiliate Kakao Entertainment
won a takeover battle against K-Pop supergroup BTS manager Hybe
352820.KS to acquire K-Pop agency SM Entertainment
041510.KQ , two months after Kakao Entertainment received a 1.2
trillion won investment from Saudi Arabia's Public Investment
Fund and Singapore's GIC.
Kim's arrest stems from a probe into whether Kakao and its
executives committed any illegalities during the takeover
process.
*In late 2023, South Korean prosecutors charged an executive
for allegedly manipulating SM's stock price to hinder Hybe from
acquiring it, by mobilising about 240 billion won ($173.24
million) to buy up the stock.
*Prosecutors are currently investigating Kakao affiliates in
at least four other matters, local media have said.
($1 = 1,385.3300 won)
(Reporting by Joyce Lee; editing by Miral Fahmy)
((joyce.lee@tr.com;))