Ryu Gung-seon appointed co-CEO of Kakao Mobility

Kakao Mobility appointed its chief strategy officer Ryu Gung-seon as co-CEO to head the company alongside CEO Jung Joo-hwan on Wednesday.

Ryu first joined as CSO in April last year and played a crucial role in developing new services for the Kakao subsidiary.

It was after his arrival that Kakao launched the beta version of its carpool service, which is now temporarily halted due to opposition from the local taxi industry.

Ryu was formally the CEO of Danal, a leader in Korea’s mobile payment services.

Five years after the launch of its first service, cab hailing app Kakao T Taxi, the company has expanded its business to include parking, night-time chauffeur services and bike sharing, which it started earlier this year.

“The purpose of the co-CEO system is aimed at pushing the development of new services and keeping the growth of existing ones,” the company said in a statement.

Before Ryu’s appointment, Jung was busy grappling with government officials and taxi industry representatives from last year regarding the now-suspended carpool app.

A spokesperson said details on how the two co-CEOs will divide roles are undecided, but Ryu is expected to accompany Jung to meet various stakeholders for its IT mobility business.

By Song Kyoung-son