Kakao Games Names Co-CEOs, Pushes M&A and New Titles to Revive Growth

Kakao Games Corp. has shifted to a co-CEO structure, naming Kim Tae-hwan and Lee Si-woo to jointly lead the company as it looks to regain growth momentum through mergers and acquisitions, strategic investments and new game publishing after improving its financial structure.

Kakao Games said on June 22 that it officially appointed Kim and Lee as co-chief executive officers after an extraordinary shareholders meeting and board approval. Kim will oversee mid- to long-term business strategy, global expansion, M&A and strategic investments. Lee will be responsible for the overall game business, including live-service operations, new title publishing and management of the company's intellectual property portfolio.

Kim joined to lead the company's external growth strategy. He previously held senior strategy and planning roles at Nexon Korea, including head of strategic planning, planning coordination director and vice president. He later served as chief business development officer at Nexon Japan, vice president at Nexon America and chief strategy officer at Line Games. Kakao Games described him as a gaming industry dealmaker with experience leading domestic and overseas M&A and strategic investments.

During his time at Nexon, Kim led major acquisitions and post-deal integration of organizations and businesses. As Kakao Games moves to expand after streamlining non-core businesses and improving its financial structure, he is set to play a central role in the company's investment and acquisition strategy.

"Aggressive investment and innovation are essential to compete in a fiercely competitive global market," Kim said. "Based on the capital strength we have secured, I will do my best to help Kakao Games grow quickly on the global stage."

Lee is expected to focus on internal operations and strengthening the competitiveness of the company's game services. He joined Kakao Games in 2015, during the company's early days, as head of its mobile business division. He later served as chief business officer, overseeing the mobile and PC game businesses.

His main achievements include the success of major intellectual property titles such as Odin: Valhalla Rising and the publishing of subculture-genre games. Kakao Games said Lee will strengthen live services, new title publishing and IP portfolio management based on his proven service capabilities. He said he would work to develop differentiated intellectual property unique to Kakao Games, backed by the company's live-service expertise and upcoming lineup.

Under the new co-CEO structure, Kakao Games plans to pursue equity investments and M&A involving promising developers in South Korea and overseas. The company also said it will expand its IP portfolio and strengthen development capabilities.

The two CEOs said their ultimate goal is to aggressively execute the company's growth strategy and turn the results into corporate value. They added that Kakao Games would communicate transparently with the market to meet the expectations of shareholders and users.

Kim Dae-young, Hankyung.com reporter kdy@hankyung.com