Prosecutors have requested a pretrial detention warrant for Kakao Corporation founder Kim Beom-su over alleged stock manipulation in the company's acquisition of SM Entertainment.

The Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office on Wednesday sought the warrant against Kim on charges of violating the Financial Investment Services and Capital Markets Act, eight days after questioning him for over 20 hours.

Kim and company executives are accused of inflating the share prices of SM, one of the country's K-pop powerhouses, in a bid to obstruct a takeover earlier this year by Hybe, the parent company for BTS' management agency BigHit Music.

Kakao is suspected of scheming with a private equity fund operator of buying around 240 billion won, or some 174 million U.S. dollars, worth of SM shares above the 120-thousand won per share Hybe was offering small shareholders, thereby undermining Hybe's tender offer.

Hybe eventually suspended the bid, allowing Kakao and its subsidiary to jointly secure a nearly 40-percent stake in SM to gain management control. Kakao is also accused of failing to fulfill the compulsory declaration on their stock acquisition.