[Reporter’s Notebook] Founders Say 'CEO Kim Taekjin' Is an Oddity

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Nahum] "'Taekjin hyung' is a strange person. He is still the CEO."

This is what founder A said when he recently met with a reporter. It makes sense, as among famous domestic company founders, Kim Taekjin, CEO of NCSoft, is practically the only one still holding the title of 'CEO.'

Behind successful founders like Lee Haejin, Naver Global Investment Officer (GIO), Kim Beomsoo, Head of Kakao Future Initiative Center, and Kwon Hyukbin, Chief Vision Officer (CVO) of Smilegate, unfamiliar titles are used instead of CEO.

The justification owners give is 'management efficiency.' As companies grow larger, division of labor and specialization inevitably follow.

The CEO position is a dream job for all employees. So why have the founders, who are the owners of the companies, seemingly all abandoned the CEO business card for the sake of efficiency? Industry insiders know the truth. In fact, among founders, there is a consensus of "it's too dirty to be CEO."

Most founders are potential lawbreakers. Kim Yusik, CEO and founder of DC Inside, recently visited the Gangnam Police Station in Seoul. The charge was violation of the Animal Protection Act. A user posted a photo of a fish with its eyes gouged out in a DC gallery, and someone reported Kim CEO for aiding animal abuse.

He was eventually cleared of charges, but the Gangnam Police Station is a familiar place for Kim CEO, like a friend's house. He had been there a couple of months earlier on the same charge. Kim is a founder but not an owner. The largest shareholder is someone else. If he were the owner, he would have scratched out the word CEO from his business card.

One might think Kim CEO is an unusual case. However, when asking startup CEOs, most have had unintended experiences visiting places feared by the general public, such as police stations, courts, or the Ministry of Employment and Labor.

For example, there is a system called 'CEO address change registration.' The CEO's address must be recorded in the corporate registry. When moving, the registration must be updated. The problem is that no one starting a company knows this. Several startup CEOs the reporter met said they paid fines because they were unaware of this system.

The situation is becoming increasingly difficult. The Serious Accident Punishment Act, introduced in January, is also a heavy burden for CEOs. If a serious accident such as a death occurs at the workplace, the CEO must serve more than one year in prison or pay a fine worth hundreds of millions of won.

Most founders who are not CEOs perform the CEO role in the company. The strange thing is that Kim Taekjin, who manages with responsibility as CEO, is treated as a strange person in this situation.

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