Kakao Officially Appoints CTO Jeong Gyudon Amid 'Meoktwi' Controversy... Reappointed as CEO of Unlisted Affiliate

Jeong Gyudon, former Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of Kakao Bank, who faced controversy over 'muk-twi' (exit with profits) after exercising stock options, has been officially appointed as the CTO of Kakao headquarters.

According to industry sources on the 2nd, Kakao appointed Jeong Gyudon as the new CTO the day before. Jeong served as CTO of Kakao Bank from 2016 until February last year. On August 10, 2021, just three trading days after Kakao Bank's IPO, he sold 106,000 shares at 62,336 KRW per share, earning approximately 6.6 billion KRW in profits. Two weeks later, he sold the remaining 11,234 shares at 91,636 KRW per share, securing over 1 billion KRW.

Jeong Gyudon's exercise of stock options led to 'muk-twi' controversy along with the approximately 90 billion KRW profit realized by then Kakao Pay CEO Ryu Youngjun and other Kakao Pay executives in December of the same year.

Despite these controversies, CEO Jeon Seong-ah's nomination of Jeong as CTO sparked criticism that the company might be reverting to a 'revolving door' personnel practice. The 'Compliance and Trust Committee,' an external body overseeing compliance and ethical management, recommended establishing measures to resolve reputational risks arising from some executive appointments after Jeong's nomination and to prevent and manage similar reputational risks in the future.

Meanwhile, the reappointment of CEOs of Kakao's unlisted affiliates?Kakao Brain, Kakao VX, and Kakao Investment?has been confirmed. Kim Ildu was reappointed as CEO of Kakao Brain, while Moon Taesik of Kakao VX and Kwon Kio of Kakao Investment were also confirmed for another term.