Shaky Kakao Leadership... 'Kim Beom-su Faction' on the Test Bench

CEO Changed Four Times a Year... Even Closer Namgung Hun Steps Down
Absence of a Control Tower Matching the Size... Leadership Change Challenge Amid Crisis

Kim Beom-su, Head of Kakao Future Initiative Center [Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporters Yuri Choi and Nahum Kang] Kakao's leadership is shaking. With CEO Namgoong Hoon, who was the last resort, stepping down due to the Kakao outage incident, the company is facing a personnel vacuum. Although it grew under the so-called 'Kim Beom-su faction,' it is criticized for not having a leadership system commensurate with its size. Amid voices calling for the founder, Kim Beom-su, head of the Kakao Future Initiative Center, to step forward, deliberations over new leadership are intensifying.

Limitations of the 'Kim Beom-su faction' leadership... Increasing need for a control tower

According to the IT industry on the 20th, Kakao has decided to maintain an emergency management system for the time being as it transitions to a sole CEO system under Hong Eun-taek. This follows the sudden resignation of CEO Namgoong Hoon after the data center fire caused the Kakao outage incident. With Namgoong's resignation, Kakao's CEO has changed four times in the past year, highlighting the leadership issues at Kakao.

So far, Kakao has been led by the 'Kim Beom-su faction.' Most of the eight CEOs have come from NHN (now Naver) and were comrades who worked closely with Kim. Former CEO Lee Je-beom, a founding member, was a junior in the Industrial Engineering Department at Seoul National University to Kim and worked together since iWilab, the predecessor of Kakao. Former co-CEO Lee Seok-woo worked with Kim since NHN days and now serves as CEO of Dunamu, a Kakao affiliate. Former CEO Lim Ji-hoon was selected as Kakao's head after serving as CEO of K Cube Ventures, founded by Kim. Former co-CEOs Yeo Min-soo and Cho Soo-yong also have ties with Kim from NHN.

The same applies to affiliate CEOs. Many were noticed by Kim while leading businesses inside and outside Kakao and became CEOs. Former Kakao Pay CEO Ryu Young-joon and co-CEO of Kakao Entertainment Lee Jin-soo joined Kakao from NHN or Samsung SDS at Kim's invitation and spun off their businesses. Young CEOs have been recognized for growing new businesses independently under Kim Beom-su's talent development strategy.

However, as Kakao's size rapidly grew, the existing leadership model faced limitations. The principle of independent management led to survival of the fittest, causing friction within affiliates. Kakao Mobility's attempt to raise taxi fares sparked controversy over infringing on local businesses, and former CEO Ryu, who was slated to be Kakao's next leader, resigned voluntarily amid stock 'eat-and-run' allegations.

In this situation, even CEO Namgoong, who was brought in as a savior, stepped down after seven months. He was a close aide who had worked with Kim since the founding of Hangame and was appointed during crises. This was seen as Kim's last card. In other words, it is difficult to find a successor to Namgoong within the 'Kim Beom-su faction.' Although Kakao has become a platform used by the entire nation and grown to the size of a large corporation, it lacks a control tower commensurate with its scale.

Calls for "Kim Beom-su to step forward"... Possibility of appointing new leadership

Some argue that Kim's absence has caused this confusion. Although he stepped down from frontline management in March, he is expected to propose not only solutions to the current crisis but also mid- to long-term growth strategies. Regarding this, CEO Hong said, "It is not desirable for the founder to be uninvolved in management and to intervene selectively as needed," adding, "Kim's position will be heard at the comprehensive audit on the 24th."

If a new leader is appointed, internal promotion is considered likely based on Kim's past selection style. A leading candidate is Senior Vice President Kwon Mi-jin. VP Kwon worked closely with former CEO Namgoong from Kakao Games, handling casual game development, business, and social marketing. After moving to Kakao, she has focused on discovering future growth engines such as the metaverse. Considering business continuity alone, it is said that it would be hard to find a more suitable candidate than VP Kwon. With Naver appointing female CEOs twice in a row, Kakao could also produce a female CEO this time. At a press conference the day before, CEO Namgoong expressed trust by saying, "Most new businesses are being carried out under VP Kwon, so planned projects will continue."

Looking at affiliates, Jeong Shin-ah, CEO of Kakao Ventures, stands out. She is the only female CEO among Kakao affiliates. After graduating from the University of Michigan's Business School, she has an impressive career as a Boston Consulting Group consultant, eBay Asia-Pacific (APAC) strategy and new business development manager, and NHN senior manager. Considering the company's crisis, there is also analysis that Kim's other close aide, Kim Sung-soo, chairman of Kakao's board and co-CEO of Kakao Entertainment, may step in as a savior.

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