Namkoong Whon named CEO of Kakao

Kakao co-CEO designate Namkoong Whon [KAKAO]

Namkoong Whon was named CEO of Kakao following a massive Kakao Pay share dump that led to a series of resignations. He currently heads the company's Future Initiative Center.

The board of directors made the decision Thursday. The appointment will take effect in March after getting final approval at an annual general shareholders meeting.

Yeo Min-soo announced Thursday that he will resign as co-CEO at the end of his term in March. He was supposed to stay on to lead the company for another four years.

He will also step down as head of Kakao’s Corporate Alignment Center, which will be led by Kim Sung-su, CEO of Kakao Entertainment.

A statement by Kakao said Yeo “feels responsible” and has resigned.

Co-CEO Joh Su-yong announced last November, before the share dump, that he would step down in March.

The new appointment follows the resignation of Ryu Young-joon, co-CEO designate of Kakao and Kakao Pay CEO.

Ryu sold 230,000 Kakao Pay shares in a block deal on Dec. 10, a little over a month after the company listed. The shares he sold were worth 46.9 billion won, according to a Financial Supervisory Service filing.

Seven other Kakao Pay executives sold a total of 210,000 shares the same day.

Shin Won-keun, who was supposed to become CEO of Kakao Pay in March, was one. Shin hasn't resigned, and announced at a meeting Jan. 4 that he will not sell any of his remaining stock during his two-year term as CEO.

On Jan. 13, Kakao made a new rule obliging all executives to hold onto new shares for one year after initial public offerings and two years for is CEOs. The rule will apply for all Kakao group IPOs.

Namkoong Whon was CEO of Kakao Games until December, when he was appointed to head the Future Initiative Center.

“I will focus on ESG [environmental, social and governance] management so we can live up to society’s expectations for Kakao and restore trust,” said Namkoong in a statement Thursday. “We will restructure our businesses, centered on future technologies such as the metaverse, and expand globally to strengthening our position as a tech firm.”

BY LEE TAE-HEE [lee.taehee2@joongang.co.kr]