Kakao Entertainment announced Thursday it has designated Ko Jung-hee, former head of Kakao Bank's AI Group, as its new co-CEO, transitioning to a dual leadership structure with current Co-CEO Chang Yun-jung.
The incoming co-CEO is expected to be formally appointed through shareholder and board meetings, with official inauguration scheduled for late March. Current Co-CEO Kwon Ki-soo is stepping down for personal reasons.
Ko joined Kakao Group in 2002 and led community services including Daum Cafe and Blog, as well as Japanese subsidiary operations. She subsequently served as Chief Service Officer and Chief Strategy Officer at Kakao Bank before most recently heading its AI Group.
The company credited Ko with transforming Kakao Bank into a financial service platform offering user-friendly convenience and stability, while driving AI innovation in the financial sector through various conversational AI services.
In her new role, Ko plans to advance and innovate Kakao Entertainment's platform and service strategies to secure distinctive competitive advantages.
Chang will intensify his focus on intellectual property and global expansion. He plans to pursue global mega-IP acquisitions, develop concrete global roadmaps across Kakao Entertainment's music, story, and media divisions, and actively identify new business opportunities for future growth.
Under the new leadership structure, Kakao Entertainment aims to combine Ko's extensive ICT industry experience and insights with Chang's broad entertainment industry global network and IP business expertise.
"Kakao Entertainment has built a powerful IP value chain through premium intellectual property and differentiated platform services," Chang and Ko said in a joint statement. "We will enhance synergies across our businesses and firmly establish ourselves as a key player in the global entertainment industry."