[Person人] CEO Former Developer of 'Voice Talk' Legend... Leaping to 'Global Kakao' with Innovative DNA

Ryu Young-jun Appointed as Co-CEO of Kakao
Officially to be Appointed CEO in March Next Year
Leading 'Techfin' Through Kakao Pay
Management Skills Recognized with Successful IPO

[Asia Economy Reporter Kiho Sung] ‘Youth and Stability, Technology and Challenge’

This is the phrase symbolizing Ryu Young-jun, the newly appointed co-CEO of Kakao and CEO of Kakao Pay. Ryu, born in 1977, is 44 years old this year. He is 8 years younger than the current co-CEO, Yeo Min-soo (born in 1969). Although former Kakao CEO Lim Ji-hoon became CEO at the age of 35, he was an external hire. Ryu stands out as an internal developer with extensive field experience. Notably, he has succeeded as a manager, which is rare for a developer. This is why Ryu is considered the right person to leverage Kakao’s innovative DNA and lead its global leap.

44 years old, young developer-turned-CEO

On the 25th of last month, Kakao held a board meeting and reported Yeo Min-soo and Ryu Young-jun as the new co-CEOs. They are expected to be officially appointed as CEOs after the shareholders’ meeting and board meeting scheduled for March.

Kakao suddenly decided to replace its CEO because co-CEO Cho Soo-yong expressed his desire to take a break and resigned. Co-CEO Yeo was deemed the right person to strengthen Kakao’s social responsibility, which has recently become a major issue, and thus was reappointed. To find the right candidate for the other position, Chairman Kim Beom-su considered two factors: ‘developer’ and ‘business success experience.’

Ryu meets both conditions. Currently, he is actively serving as CEO of Kakao Pay, but he was previously more recognized as the developer of Kakao Voice Talk. After working at Samsung SDS and other companies, he joined Kakao in 2011 and led the development of ‘Voice Talk,’ which replaced domestic and international calls. Later, he launched Kakao Pay, Korea’s first simple payment service, leading Kakao to become a pioneering company in tech-finance (technology + finance).

Until now, it has been rare to find a developer among Kakao CEOs. As mentioned earlier, former CEO Lim was an investment expert. Co-CEO Yeo graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sloan School of Management and specializes in business model (BM) design, while the resigning co-CEO Cho graduated from Seoul National University Graduate School of Fine Arts in Industrial Design and is a design and strategy expert.

Recognized for business achievements through Kakao Pay... Successful IPO

He has also achieved business results that everyone recognizes. When Voice Talk was initially launched, telecom companies imposed usage restrictions, leading to conflicts with Kakao. During this process, Ryu took on business challenges. He realized that to change the world with technology, not only technical skills but also coordination with stakeholders and business judgment are important.

In 2013, Ryu moved to head Kakao’s Payment Business Division, taking his first step into business. The start of the business was also based on technical aspects. He proposed the simple payment business based on his experience that the payment process for KakaoTalk gift sending was too inconvenient. Along with this, he worked hard to build cooperative relationships with financial companies, reflecting on his experience with Voice Talk.

Since January 2017, Ryu has served as CEO of the independent corporation Kakao Pay, expanding its services from payment, remittance, billing, and authentication to insurance, loans, investment, and securities. Recently, he was recognized for his managerial skills by successfully leading the company’s initial public offering (IPO).

His experience as chairman of the Korea Fintech Industry Association is also noteworthy. He is recognized as a person who knows ‘how to communicate’ with the government and political circles regarding regulations, while representing the voice of the entire industry and fostering the growth of the fintech ecosystem.

Yeominsu Yeo (right) and Youngjun Ryu, co-CEOs-designate to lead Kakao starting next year.

"The right person to preserve Kakao’s DNA"... Expected to accelerate global expansion

The Kakao board explained about Ryu, "Starting as a developer and continuously taking on new challenges in planning and business without settling, he successfully led Kakao Pay. We expect him to lead Kakao’s global leap by preserving Kakao’s original DNA as an innovative company."

Market observers predict that Ryu will drive Kakao’s growth through tech-finance, his area of expertise. Kakao is currently focusing on its e-commerce business, which integrates shopping into KakaoTalk. Since synergy with simple payment is essential for the e-commerce business, Ryu’s role is expected to be more important than ever in this area.

There is also a view that Ryu’s experience with Kakao Pay’s successful IPO will help Kakao’s growth. Kakao currently has a series of planned listings, including Kakao Entertainment, Kakao Piccoma, and Kakao Mobility. It is expected that Kakao will also accelerate its global expansion, which has been identified as a key challenge during this process.

Ryu stated, "As Kakao faces the important task of socially responsible growth, I feel a heavy responsibility and excitement for new challenges. I will do my best to help the company grow bigger based on Kakao’s core DNA of ‘challenge,’ while upholding the vision of a better world created by technology and people."

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