'Ttasang' Kakao Games, CEOs Also Sitting on 200 Billion Won 'Money Throne'

Namgung Hun, CEO of Kakao Games, Current Valuation Exceeds 150 Billion Won
Major Affiliate CEOs and Executives Also Hit Hundreds of Billions 'Big Hit'

Co-CEOs Namgung Hoon (left) and Jo Gye-hyun of Kakao Games (Photo by Kakao Games)

[Asia Economy Reporter Minwoo Lee] Kakao Games, which set a record for the largest subscription deposit ever exceeding 58 trillion won, achieved a 'Ttah-sang' (opening price double the IPO price followed by the upper price limit) on its first day of listing. As a result, major shareholders including Kakao Games CEOs Namgoong Hoon and Cho Gye-hyun, who hold stakes, have found themselves sitting on a fortune exceeding 200 billion won.

On the 10th, Kakao Games recorded 62,400 won at the opening of the KOSDAQ market. After forming an opening price of 48,000 won, which is double the IPO price of 24,000 won, it immediately hit the upper price limit. Kakao Games entered the 5th place in KOSDAQ market capitalization with a market cap of 4.568 trillion won.

Along with this, Kakao Games and its affiliate CEOs tasted a 'stock jackpot.' According to the Financial Supervisory Service's electronic disclosure system, CEO Namgoong Hoon holds a 3.3% stake (2,412,500 shares) in Kakao Games. Based on the 'Ttah-sang' price, this amounts to 150.54 billion won. Like Kim Beom-su, Chairman of Kakao, CEO Namgoong is a former Samsung SDS employee. He is known for growing the company alongside Chairman Kim, including personally visiting PC bangs during the early days of Hangame to promote the business.

Song Jae-kyung, CEO of XL Games, a subsidiary that created the recently popular Moonlight Sculptor, holds a 0.77% stake (566,824 shares). Based on the price on this day, it amounts to 36.36982 billion won. CEO Song is a developer known as the 'father' of domestic online games, having created 'Lineage' and 'The Kingdom of the Winds' in the past.

Moon Tae-sik, CEO of affiliate Kakao VX, also holds a 0.30% stake. Based on the 'Ttah-sang' price on this day, this exceeds 13.8 billion won. CEO Moon leads Kakao VX's screen golf and augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) businesses. Like CEO Namgoong, he is a former Samsung SDS employee and later served as CEO of NHN Games.

Co-CEO Cho Gye-hyun, who shares leadership with CEO Namgoong, also found himself on a fortune. Cho holds a 0.2% stake (150,000 shares), equivalent to 9.36 billion won as of this day. Having worked with CEO Namgoong at Wemade, Cho joined Engine, the predecessor of Kakao Games, as co-CEO in 2016. Currently, CEO Namgoong oversees overall management and new businesses at Kakao Games, while CEO Cho is in charge of game publishing (distribution).

In addition, founding members and affiliate executives such as former Kakao Games CFO Nam Jae-kwan and Kim Min-sung, head of Kakao Games' European branch, have also joined the ranks of stock millionaires.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.