Kakao Games plans to hold an extraordinary shareholders meeting later this month and reshuffle its board. Kim Taehwan (김태환), a vice president at LINE Games, and Lee Siwoo (이시우), the current chief business officer (CBO), have been nominated as inside directors, and the possibility has been raised that they could take up posts as co-CEOs after appointment. The move comes as a management shake-up gathers pace ahead of a change in the top shareholder to an investment vehicle funded by Line Yahoo.

Kakao Games on June 4 filed that it resolved at a board meeting to hold an extraordinary shareholders meeting on June 22 in the basement level 1 of the Kakao AI Campus in Suji-gu, Yongin, Gyeonggi Province. The resolution was made with all 3 outside directors in attendance.

Agenda items include appointing 2 inside directors, 1 outside director and 1 other non-executive director, and partially amending the articles of incorporation. Kim, a vice president at LINE Games, and Lee, Kakao Games' CBO, were listed as candidates for inside director.

Kim previously served as a vice president at Nexon Korea, CBDO at Nexon Japan and a vice president at Nexon America, and has also served as a vice president at LINE Games. Lee has worked in business divisions at NHN and Wemade and served as secretary-general of the Game Talent Foundation before taking roles as head of Kakao Games’ mobile business division and as CBO.

As a candidate for outside director, Kakao Games recommended Lim Tae-sub (임태섭), a professor at Sungkyunkwan University GSB, who previously served as co-head of Goldman Sachs Securities Korea, head of Goldman Sachs Asset Management's Korea unit, and head of Macquarie Securities Korea. Seo Seok-ho (서석호), a managing director at Petrico Partners, was nominated as a candidate for other non-executive director.

The effectiveness of the director appointments is conditional on closing, including completion of payment. Kakao Games on March 24 signed a share subscription agreement and a convertible bond purchase agreement with LAAA Investment, funded by Line Yahoo. Procedures are under way for a third-party allotted paid-in capital increase and issuance of convertible bonds, and once completed, LAAA will become Kakao Games' largest shareholder. The change in the top shareholder is expected to take place this month.

Petrico Partners, where Seo is serving as a managing director, is the manager of Petrico No.6 PEF, which holds a 100 percent stake in LAAA Investment.

A Kakao Games official said the company is in the review stage on a co-CEO system. "We will provide details once appointments are confirmed in line with board and extraordinary shareholders meeting procedures within this month," the official said.