Former Minister Hyesook Lim and Former NTS Chief Daeji Kim Join KakaoAI as Outside Directors

Seungpil Oh, Former CTO of KT, and Youngjun Kim, Korea University Professor, Also Appointed

Following Kakao's corporate spin-off, several high-profile figures—including a former minister and a former Commissioner of the National Tax Service—will join KakaoAI, which will oversee the artificial intelligence (AI) and platform businesses.

According to the spin-off plan submitted by Kakao on August 25, the board of KakaoAI will consist of a total of seven directors: three internal directors and four outside directors.

Minister Hyesook Lim of the Ministry of Science and ICT is giving an opening remark at the ruling party-government meeting for the promotion of space development held at the National Assembly on the 10th. Photo by Dongju Yoon doso7@

The internal directors will include KakaoAI's CEO-designate, Shin A, who is also the current CEO of Kakao, and Shin Jonghwan, Kakao's Chief Financial Officer (CFO). Shin Junghwan, a venture partner at Altos Ventures who previously served as Kakao's Chief Technology Officer (CTO), is slated to be appointed as a non-executive director.

The list of outside directors includes Hyesook Lim, former Minister of Science and ICT; Daeji Kim, former Commissioner of the National Tax Service and currently an advisor at BnH Tax Advisory; Seungpil Oh, former CTO of KT; and Youngjun Kim, professor at the Graduate School of Technology Management at Korea University.

Former Minister Lim served as Minister of Science and ICT for about one year starting in 2021, during the Moon Jae-in administration. She is recognized as an expert in electrical, electronic, and information communication fields and is also the first female Minister of Science and ICT in Korea. She currently serves as a professor in the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at Ewha Womans University. Former Commissioner Kim served as Commissioner of the Busan Regional Tax Office and as the 24th Commissioner of the National Tax Service; he is currently an advisor at BnH Tax Advisory. His appointment is seen as an effort to strengthen financial and tax management for the newly established entity, KakaoAI.

Former CTO Oh has worked at NASA Ames Research Center, Microsoft, and Yahoo, before serving as Executive Vice President of Digital at Hyundai Card. He then became CTO at KT in 2023, working there until March of this year when former KT CEO Youngsup Kim stepped down. During his tenure as CTO of KT, he led the company's technology development organizations in areas such as AI and cloud computing. Professor Kim was newly appointed as an outside director at Kakao in March of this year.

On August 21, Kakao's board of directors resolved to proceed with a split into two entities: KakaoAI (the new spin-off) and KakaoX (the continuing entity). KakaoAI will handle AI, advertising, and commerce centered on KakaoTalk, while KakaoX will focus on supporting and managing subsidiaries. The spin-off ratio, based on net asset book value, will be 0.36 for KakaoAI and 0.64 for KakaoX. Existing shareholders will receive shares in both companies in proportion to this ratio.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.