[News Figures] Namgung Hoon, from Kakao's Savior to Resignation from CEO Position

Namgoong Hoon, Co-CEO of Kakao (left), is bowing his head at an emergency press conference held on the 19th at Kakao headquarters in Pangyo, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do. / Photo by Yonhap News

"Feeling the heavy responsibility deeply, I will step down from the CEO position to reaffirm my commitment to reform and change."

Namgung Hoon, co-CEO of Kakao, resigned taking responsibility for the KakaoTalk outage incident. It has been about seven months since he assumed the CEO position. Namgung, who holds impressive titles such as a venture comrade of Kakao founder Kim Beom-su and one of Korea's first-generation game industry leaders, had a soaring career until last year. He was even regarded as a savior who could steer Kakao through its compounded crises.

At an emergency press conference held on the 19th at Kakao's headquarters in Pangyo, Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, Namgung said, "I know that recovering lost trust requires greater and longer efforts than ever before." After resigning from the CEO position, Namgung plans to lead the Disaster Countermeasures Subcommittee of the Emergency Response Committee to manage the situation.

Namgung, who served as CEO of Kakao Games

Namgung is considered one of Korea's first-generation game industry leaders. He was the key figure behind the successful IPO of Kakao Games and was known as a trusted confidant favored by founder Kim Beom-su. Namgung has had a long relationship with Kim for over 20 years. They met in 1997 when Namgung joined Samsung SDS, and later Namgung joined 'Hangame,' a game company established by Kim after his retirement.

Namgung also played a leading role in the game business at NHN, which was formed by the merger of Hangame and Navercom. In 2009, while serving as CEO of CJ Internet, he faced a setback when he failed to renew the license for the popular domestic first-person shooter (FPS) game 'Sudden Attack.' However, he returned as CEO of WeMade Entertainment in 2012, where he was recognized for his skills by strengthening mobile game services.

When Namgung accepted the CEO position at Kakao Games in 2016 and returned to Kim's side, his abilities were fully demonstrated. He expanded the business by strengthening the mobile game division and successfully led Kakao Games to be listed on KOSDAQ in 2020, achieving a hit.

Last year, when Kakao faced storms such as controversies over 'moral hazard' due to massive stock sales by Kakao Pay executives, disputes over encroachment on small businesses, and stock price declines, Namgung was appointed as the next CEO. A month before his inauguration, he made an unusual pledge on Facebook, stating he would work for minimum wage until the stock price recovered to 150,000 KRW, and he also listened to internal and external opinions through company and press meetings. However, with Kakao's future at a crossroads due to the 'outage incident,' he ultimately decided to step down and focus on crisis management.

Meanwhile, after Namgung's departure, Kakao will transition to a sole CEO system under co-CEO Hong Eun-taek. Additionally, the Emergency Response Committee, to which Namgung belonged, will form three subcommittees: ▲Cause Investigation ▲Disaster Countermeasures ▲Compensation Measures. The committee plans to soon open a damage report window for the outage incident and review appropriate compensation.

Furthermore, to prevent incidents like this in the future, Kakao plans to complete its own data center in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province, next year and begin construction of another data center in Siheung. The data center in Siheung is scheduled to start operations in January 2027.

Regarding this, CEO Hong stated, "We will significantly expand infrastructure investments, including our own data centers, and build infrastructure capable of providing smooth service even if one data center completely stops, as happened this time."

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