Namkoong Hoon (남궁훈), CEO of Eyes Entertainment, bought a 1 percent stake in Kakao Games on the open market. He has recently continued investing in game stocks following JoyCity and Wemeade Play, a move reflecting expectations about the gaming industry’s growth direction and changes in Kakao Games’ shareholder structure.

Namkoong said on Facebook on Aug. 24 that he had additionally bought a 1 percent stake in Kakao Games after previously purchasing a 1 percent stake in Wemeade Play on the open market.

He cited a gap between the market’s assessment of the gaming industry and his own outlook as the reason for the purchase. The stock market currently values gaming as an industry heading into decline beyond maturity, but he judged that the industry could grow again as technology changes.

Namkoong laid out two main pillars for the gaming industry’s future growth direction. One is hardcore games based on advanced technology that blur the boundary between reality and virtual worlds. The other is casual games that anyone can easily play and create by using artificial intelligence (AI). He forecast the industry could enter a new growth phase as both a push to enhance user experience and a push to lower barriers to production and participation emerge at the same time.

Namkoong in particular said Kakao Games could face a new growth opportunity based on its changed shareholder structure. Referring to a structure in which the Line side becomes the largest shareholder after Kakao’s stake sale and Kakao and Tencent remain major shareholders, he assessed that the company would "face a timely opportunity to grow once again" based on these characteristics. Kakao Games in June welcomed LAAA Investment, funded by LineYahoo, as its largest shareholder, while Kakao remained the second-largest shareholder with a 14.68 percent stake.

Namkoong’s recent investments in game stocks are also drawing attention for showing his view of the broader gaming sector alongside investments in individual companies. He previously bought JoyCity shares and then acquired a 1 percent stake in Wemeade Play on the open market. In Wemeade Play’s case, he presented as the reason that the KOSDAQ market and game stocks were excessively undervalued.

With this Kakao Games investment, he went a step further by laying out the gaming industry’s growth direction in line with AI and technological advances. With the market placing weight on the industry’s maturity and slowing growth, his investment decision focused on the idea that technological change could reshape how the industry grows.

Namkoong previously led Kakao Games as its CEO and later served as Kakao’s chief executive. He now leads AI-based startup Eyes Entertainment.