[Edaily Reporter Kim Hyun-ah ] Kakao(035720)is reorganizing the board of directors of its newly established subsidiary, “Kakao AI,” ahead of a corporate spin-off. It has been confirmed that Oh Seung-pil (56), former Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of #KTCorporation, will join Kakao AI as an outside director.

Former government officials, including a former minister and a former Commissioner of the National Tax Service, are also being mentioned as candidates for outside directors, a move interpreted as an effort to strengthen the expertise and independence of Kakao AI’s board following the corporate spin-off.

According to industry sources on the 25th, Kakao plans to address a proposal for a corporate spin-off at an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders on December 17. As part of this process, the company is proceeding with a plan to reassign existing board members to the respective spun-off entities and to appoint additional external experts, including former CTO Oh, to Kakao AI. It is reported that some candidates have already been informed of the proposal to join as outside directors.

Former CTO Oh, born in 1970, earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree in computer science from the University of Wyoming in the United States. Starting with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), he has held positions at global companies such as Yahoo and Microsoft (MS), and led the digital divisions at Hyundai Card and Hyundai Commercial. He joined KTCorporation in 2023 as the head of the newly established Technology Innovation Division (CTO), overseeing the IT and research and development (R&D) organizations, as well as AI and digital transformation strategies.

In particular, he played a pivotal role in establishing a large-scale strategic partnership with Microsoft. KTCorporation pursued a collaboration with Microsoft valued at approximately 2.4 trillion won, jointly advancing Korean AI models, cloud services, and AI and AX (AI Experience) businesses. However, this collaboration also sparked controversy regarding the appropriateness of contract terms and data sovereignty. Former CTO Oh left KTCorporation in March of this year.

Kakao AI’s recruitment of former CTO Oh is interpreted as a strategic move aimed not only at securing a technical expert but also at enhancing the board’s ability to respond to collaborations with global Big Tech companies and large-scale AI investments. This is because, from Kakao AI’s perspective—which must build its own AI capabilities while pursuing strategic partnerships with global Big Tech firms—the role of a professional with experience in large-scale technology negotiations is crucial.

In particular, given that Kakao AI will require significant investment in AI model development and computing infrastructure in the future, it is necessary for the board to review contract terms, data and security issues, and investment risks during the process of forming partnerships with global technology companies. Analysts suggest that former CTO Oh’s experience in collaborating with global Big Tech firms can be leveraged for this role.

It is also noteworthy that former government officials, including a former minister and a former Commissioner of the National Tax Service, are being mentioned as candidates for outside directors. This is interpreted as a move to strengthen the board’s expertise across various fields—including not only AI and technology but also policy, regulation, taxation, and finance—in order to establish a new management foundation for the newly established entity.

As Kakao AI is positioning the AI business as Kakao’s future growth engine, it appears the board of directors is also being restructured to enhance the expertise and independence of the existing Kakao board. The aim is to support the management of the newly established entity by appointing external technology and policy experts, while simultaneously strengthening the board’s oversight of large-scale investments and global partnerships.

Kakao has set January 1 of next year as the spin-off date and is proceeding with a spin-off to separate its AI business into Kakao AI. The spin-off ratio is 0.36 for Kakao AI and 0.64 for Kakao X, with the scheduled dates for Kakao AI’s relisting and Kakao X’s re-listing set for January 27 of next year.

Industry observers believe that since Kakao AI is highly likely to emerge as a core growth engine for the Kakao Group following the spin-off, the composition of its board of directors will also be a key factor in future business strategies and management decisions. It is anticipated that appointing a large number of external technology and policy experts would not only support the independent management of the newly established entity but also further strengthen the board’s oversight of large-scale AI investments and global partnerships.