
The antitrust regulator decided to refer K Cube Holdings, a company wholly owned by Kakao founder Kim Beom-su, to the prosecution over allegations of illegally executing its voting rights to Kakao companies, violating the Fair Trade Act.
Founded in 2017, K Cube Holdings is considered a de facto holding company of Kakao.
It owns 10.51 percent of Kakao as the second-largest shareholder following Kim — who has a 13.27 percent ownership — and also holds 0.91 percent of Kosdaq-listed Kakao Games.
The Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) on Thursday said that K Cube Holdings violated the Fair Trade Act by executing its voting rights as a stockholder of Kakao and Kakao Games despite being subject to limitations on mutual investments.
Read more: South Korean Watchdog To Tighten Scrutiny On Delinquent Online Sellers
According to the Fair Trade Act, a financial or insurance company belonging to an enterprise group subject to mutual investment regulations cannot practice its voting rights on its affiliated companies, due to the principle of so-called “separation of industrial and financial capital.”
The regulation was designed to prevent corporate owners from using money made by financial or insurance businesses to strengthen their control over non-financial affiliates or for the purpose of management succession.
Featured News
Public Interest Groups Push for Rehearing on FCC Net Neutrality Case
Feb 18, 2025 by
CPI
Australian Regulator Backs Virgin Australia-Qatar Airways Alliance
Feb 18, 2025 by
CPI
EU Scales Back AI Regulations to Compete with US in Global Tech Race
Feb 18, 2025 by
CPI
Democratic Lawmakers Raise Concerns Over Musk’s Task Force and Taxpayer Data Security
Feb 18, 2025 by
CPI
UK’s CMA Provisionally Approves Poultry Feed Merger
Feb 18, 2025 by
CPI
Antitrust Mix by CPI
Antitrust Chronicle® – International Criminal Enforcement
Jan 23, 2025 by
CPI
The Antitrust Division’s Recent Work to Combat International Cartels
Jan 23, 2025 by
Emma Burnham & Benjamin Christenson
Information Sharing: The New Frontier of U.S. Antitrust Enforcement
Jan 23, 2025 by
Brian P. Quinn, Casey Kovarik & Michael Tubach
The Key Role of Guidelines on Exchanges of Information Among Competitors and the Divergent Transatlantic Paths
Jan 23, 2025 by
Rosa Abrantes-Metz & Albert Metz
Leniency, Whistleblowers, and Compliance
Jan 23, 2025 by
Richard Powers, Tara O’Malley & Cory Gordon