Prosecutors have indicted Kim Beom-su, the founder of tech giant Kakao Corp., on stock manipulation charges related to the firm's takeover of K-pop powerhouse SM Entertainment last year, officials said Thursday. The Seoul Southern District Court indicted Kim under detention on charges of violating the capital markets act, about two weeks after the tech tycoon was formally arrested for his alleged involvement in the manipulation of SM shares. The case centers on suspicions that the mobile platform-to-entertainment conglomerate and its executives manipulated SM stock prices during a bidding war it won in February last year against Hybe, the parent company of K-pop superband BTS' management agency BigHit, over the takeover of SM. SM shares were allegedly driven above 120,000 won (US$87) per share through alleged rigging, the fixed price at which Hybe was publicly buying shares from investors. Prosecutors charged Kim with involvement in stock price rigging over four days in February last year, with the inten tion of undermining Hybe's takeover bid for SM. Hybe had acquired a 14.8 percent stake in SM from its founder Lee Su-man and offered to buy up SM shares from small shareholders at 120,000 won per share. But it later withdrew its takeover bid after SM shares significantly jumped. In March last year, Kakao and Kakao Entertainment became the controlling shareholder in SM Entertainment after acquiring a 39.87 percent stake in the agency. Kim has flatly denied the suspicions. During a meeting of Kakao affiliates last month, Kim said, "I believe the truth will eventually be revealed, because I have never instructed or condoned any illegal acts." Prosecutors said that former Kakao CEO Hong Eun-taek and Kim Sung-soo, former chief of Kakao Entertainment Corp., have also been indicted without detention on charges connected to the alleged manipulation. Source : Yonhap News Agency