[Edaily Reporter Ahn Yu-ri] #Kakao Games, which is set to welcome Line Yahoo as its new owner, will appoint Kim Tae-hwan, former Chief Strategy Officer (CSO) of Line Games, and Lee Si-woo, Chief Business Officer (CBO) of Kakao Games, as inside directors.

According to a regulatory filing on the 5th, Kakao Games will hold an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders on the 22nd of this month to vote on the appointment of former CSO Kim and CBO Lee as inside directors. Industry observers view this as the final step before transitioning to a co-CEO system following approval by the board of directors.

According to a disclosure on the 5th, Kakao Games will hold an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders on the 22nd of this month to vote on the appointment of former CSO Kim and CBO Lee as inside directors. Following this, the company plans to officially launch a co-CEO system after approval by the board of directors.

Former CSO Kim graduated from Yonsei University with a degree in Political Science and International Relations and has held positions including Vice President at Nexon Korea, Chief Business Development Officer (CBDO) at Nexon Japan, and Vice President at Nexon America. He later joined Line Games, where he has been in charge of business strategy and investment.

In a regulatory filing, Kakao Games stated that former CSO Kim Tae-hwan “has accumulated extensive experience in business development and other areas.” The company added, “We recommended him as a candidate for an internal director because we believe he is the right person to contribute to strengthening the company’s global competitiveness and establishing mid- to long-term growth strategies, based on his deep understanding of the global game market and experience in business expansion.”

CBO Lee graduated from the Department of Business Administration at Sogang University and held business-related positions at NHN (formerly Hangame) and Wemade. He subsequently served as Secretary-General of the Game Industry Foundation and Head of the Mobile Business Division at Kakao Games, and currently serves as Chief Business Officer.

The agenda for the general meeting of shareholders today also includes the appointment of Seo Seok-ho as a non-executive director and Lim Tae-seop as an outside director.

Seo Seok-ho, the other non-executive director, serves as a managing director at Petrico Partners. Petrico Partners is the asset manager of Petrico Fund No. 6 PEF, which holds a 100% stake in LAAA Investment—a private equity fund funded by Line Yahoo and the largest shareholder of Kakao Games.

Lim Tae-seop, an outside director, is currently a professor at Sungkyunkwan University’s GSB and also serves as an outside director at SK Telecom. He is a financial expert with over 30 years of experience in investment advisory and asset management at firms such as Goldman Sachs and Macquarie Securities Korea.

The industry is closely watching the appointment of former Line CSO Kim, speculating about the possibility of a merger between Kakao Games and Line Games, as well as the potential for a backdoor listing by Line Games, whose previous IPO fell through.

In March, Kakao announced that it would sell a portion of its stake in Kakao Games to LAAA Investment, a special purpose company (SPC) funded by LY Corporation (Line Yahoo).

Concurrently, Kakao Games will conduct a third-party private placement worth 240 billion won with LAAA and issue 60 billion won worth of convertible bonds (CBs). Upon completion of the transaction, LAAA Investment will become the largest shareholder of Kakao Games, while Kakao will become the second-largest shareholder.

Kakao Games stated, "The company is currently reviewing a co-CEO system, and we will provide further details once the appointments are finalized through the board of directors and extraordinary general meeting of shareholders later this month."