Who is Kim Beom-su, founder of South Korean tech giant Kakao?

Kim Beom-su, founder of Kakao Corp, arrested for stock manipulation during K-Pop agency acquisition.

On July 23, South Korean authorities arrested Kim Beom-su, the billionaire founder of tech giant Kakao Corp, 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.