Daum Kakao names new head to speed up mobile business

South Korea's top mobile messenger operator Daum Kakao Corp. said Monday it has named a new single head, ending its co-CEO system that has been maintained since its launch last year after the merger between the two IT firms.
  

Rim Ji-hoon, 35, head of investment firm K Cube Ventures, will become the new CEO of Daum Kakao, the merged entity of South Korea's two most-tracked IT firms at the time, Kakao Corp. and Daum Communications Corp.
  

K Cube Ventures is an investment firm that focuses on startup companies. It became a Daum Kakao affiliate in March, with the IT giant owning a full stake.
  

The decision will be approved by shareholders and the board of directors next month.
  

"I will do my best to make Daum Kakao a leading South Korean mobile company with global-level competitiveness," Rim said.
  

Incumbent co-CEOs Choi Sae-hoon and Lee Sirgoo, which head the portal and mobile messenger businesses, respectively, were behind the latest decision, Daum Kakao said.
  

The two said they will provide all the support needed for Rim.
  

KakaoTalk, South Korea's most popular free mobile messenger operated by Daum Kakao, has 35 million local users in the country with a population of 50 million. (Yonhap)