[Catfish Become Kakao Bank]④ Rapid Growth from Kakao and Hantu's 'Brain Combination'

Despite C-level Changes and Major Shareholder Shifts,
Majority from Kakao and Hanhwa Investment
"Synergy Between Both Companies Accelerates KakaoBank Growth"

There are key individuals who played a decisive role in KakaoBank achieving the number one position in the internet banking industry. They are executives from Kakao and Korea Investment Financial Group. Positioned in key roles across various fields, they played a significant role in transplanting Kakao's IT capabilities and Korea Investment's financial service operation skills into KakaoBank. Despite changes in the governance structure, the influence of both companies remains strong, and KakaoBank continues to grow through ongoing partnerships with them.

As of the 20th, among the 18 C-level executives (chief officers by field) at KakaoBank, four are from Daum·Kakao (CEO Yoon Ho-young, CTO Shin Jae-hong, CSO Ko Jung-hee, and Chief R&D Officer Ahn Hyun-chul). Five are from Korea Investment, including Vice CEO Kim Kwang-ok, Chief Business Officer Lee Hyung-joo, Chief Information Security Officer Min Kyung-pyo, Head of Management Support Group Shin Hee-chul, and Chief Financial Officer Lee Cheol. Five are promoted internally within KakaoBank (Chief HR Officer Eom Jun-sik, Head of Trust Technology No Seung-jin, Head of New Business Song Ho-geun, Chief of Financial Consumer Protection Yoon Jeong-baek, and Head of Engineering Technology Jeong Jin-seok). Three are from SC First Bank (Chief Risk Officer Lee Ji-woon, Head of Customer Service Heo Jae-young, and COO Kim Seok).

At the time of KakaoBank's launch in 2017, the largest group among C-level executives was from Daum·Kakao with four members. Korea Investment followed with three, and SC First Bank and others had one each. Compared to now, the number of Korea Investment executives has increased by two, and internally promoted KakaoBank C-level executives have increased by five. The increase from SC First Bank from one to three is also notable.

The reason Kakao and Korea Investment occupy a large portion of KakaoBank's C-level composition lies in the shareholding structure. Korea Investment played a crucial role in establishing KakaoBank. Due to the separation of banking and industry regulations (Eunsan Separation) at the time of KakaoBank's establishment, Kakao was unable to establish a bank. Therefore, Korea Investment Financial Group held 55.56% of KakaoBank's shares and actively participated in its establishment.

After the easing of the Eunsan Separation regulation, Korea Investment gradually transferred shares to Kakao. In November 2019, Kakao secured a 34% stake, becoming the largest shareholder of KakaoBank. As of June last year, Kakao holds 27.17% of KakaoBank's shares. Korea Investment Financial Group holds shares in KakaoBank through Korea Investment Securities. Although Korea Investment Securities holds the same proportion of shares, Kakao leads by one share in the number of shares owned (129,533,725 shares for Kakao vs. 129,533,724 shares for Korea Investment Securities).

Despite changes in the shareholding structure, the influence of Kakao and Korea Investment remains strong. The CEO and Vice CEO are from Kakao and Korea Investment, respectively. CEO Yoon Ho-young started as head of Daum's management support division, led Kakao's mobile bank task force, and has served as CEO since the launch. Vice CEO Kim Kwang-ok joined KakaoBank in June 2020. He is a 'Korea Investment man' who previously worked in corporate finance at Korea Investment Securities, served as compliance officer at Korea Investment Financial Group, and was an executive director at Korea Investment Partners.

This trend continues even after this year's organizational restructuring. On the 1st, KakaoBank underwent an organizational reorganization. Four new groups were established as higher-level organizations managing 14 'departments': Management Support Group, Management Strategy Group, Technology Group, and Camp Group. New departments directly under the CEO, such as the New Business Department and AI Department, were also created. Among the group heads, Korea Investment has two (Lee Hyung-joo, head of Management Strategy Group; Shin Hee-chul, head of Management Support Group), the most. Daum·Kakao and SC First Bank each have one (Shin Jae-hong, head of Technology Group; Kim Seok, head of Camp Group). The heads of the CEO's direct departments are Song Ho-geun, head of New Business Department, and Ahn Hyun-chul, head of AI Department, from KakaoBank internal and Daum·Kakao, respectively.

The 'DNA' of Kakao and Korea Investment, which has been integrated into KakaoBank through its executive composition, is expected to continue steadily through partnerships. KakaoBank is generating synergy effects through services utilizing KakaoTalk, Kakao's flagship service as the largest shareholder. Representative examples include the 'Invite Members' feature in group accounts, linking KakaoBank accounts as payment methods in KakaoTalk Gift, and launching a 26-week installment savings product in partnership with KakaoPage and Webtoon. With Korea Investment Securities, partnerships include stock account opening services, domestic stock investment services, and 'Guaranteed Returns' investments in promissory notes and over-the-counter bonds issued by Korea Investment Securities.