UPDATE 1-South Korean court clears Kakao founder of stock manipulation charges

(Updates to change attribution in paragraph 1, share price in paragraph 4 and Kakao unavailable for a comment in paragraph 5) By Heekyong Yang and Heejin Kim SEOUL, Oct 21 (Reuters) – A South Korean court on Tuesday cleared Kakao Corp founder Kim Beom-su of stock manipulation charges, a court spokesperson said. In August, prosecutors had sought a 15-year jail term and a fine of 500 million won ($350,000). Kim was arrested in July last year on charges of being involved in manipulation of the stock price of SM Entertainment in 2023 to hinder a competitor, Hybe, from acquiring it. He was released on bail in October 2024. Shares of Kakao Corp, which runs South Korea's largest chat app, were trading up 5.3% after the court's ruling. Kakao was not immediately available for a comment on the ruling. ($1 = 1,421.4800 won) (Reporting by Heekyong Yang and Heejin Kim; Editing by Tom Hogue and Christian Schmollinger)

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