Wikipedia

Kakao Entertainment

Kakao Entertainment Corp.(Korean:주식회사 카카오엔터테인먼트;stylized askakao ENTERTAINMENT) is a South Korean entertainment, mass media, and publishing company founded in 2021. A subsidiary of the Internet companyKakao,it was established subsequent to the merger of the latter's two subsidiariesKakaoPageandKakao M.[2][3][4]

Kakao Entertainment Corp.
Native name
주식회사 카카오엔터테인먼트
Company typePrivatesubsidiary
Industry
Predecessor
(as separate companies)
FoundedMarch 2, 2021;3 years ago(2021-03-02)[1]
HeadquartersSeongnam,Gyeonggi-do,
South Korea
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Joseph Chang(CEO) Gisu Kwon(CEO)
Products
Services
Owner
  • Kakao(63.50%)
  • Podo Asia B.V. (15.33%)
  • Joy Lee (0.96%)
  • Others (20.21%)
ParentKakao
Divisions
  • Page Company
  • M Company
Subsidiariessee list
WebsiteKakaoEnt

History

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KakaoPage Corp.

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Main article:KakaoPage

Podotree Co, Ltd.was founded on July 20, 2010, as a subsidiary of Kakao, and launched KakaoPage three years later. On August 1, 2018, the company changed its corporate name toKakaoPage Corp.

Kakao M

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Main article:Kakao M

Seoul Records, Inc.was established in October 1978 byMin Young-bin[ko],the founder of South Korea's leading educational companyYBM Group[ko](formerly Sisa English). In 2005, the company was acquired bySK Telecomand relaunched asLOEN Entertainment, Inc.three years later, before being sold to Star Invest Holdings (a subsidiary ofAffinity Equity Partners).

In January 2016, it was taken over by Kakao and renamed again asKakao M Corp.in December 2017.

In October 2020, the company expanded inAsiaby launching a Thailand-based subsidiary calledKakao M Asia (Private) Co., Ltd.(currentlyKakao Entertainment Asia Co., Ltd.).[5]

Merger as Kakao Entertainment (2021–present)

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In December 2020, KakaoPage Corp. proposed a merger with Kakao M Corp. as a unified company.[6]It was seen as an action by their parent company against US-basedGoogle’s new policy for its app market place users, which would've affected Kakao M, whichKakaoTVplatform was starting to become popular in South Korea.

Both companies announced the plans and timeline for their merger, as well as the proposed name for the unified companyKakao Entertainment Corpon January 25, 2021.[7]Under the plans, KakaoPage Corp. is the surviving entity.

The merger was completed on March 1, and Kakao Entertainment was formally founded a day later.

On July 15, it was announced that Kakao Entertainment andMelon Companywould be merging, with the merger expected to be complete in September 2021.[8]

On September 17, Kakao Entertainment announced thatPlay M Entertainmentand Cre.ker Entertainment would be merging in the future.[9]On November 12, it was announced that the company's new corporate name would beIST Entertainment,which took effect on November 1.[10]

Divisions

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Page Company

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Headed by co-CEO Joy Lee, the Kakao Entertainment's Page Company is in charge of the company's web fiction publishing and web development business. It is situated inPangyo,SeongnaminGyeonggi Province.

M Company

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Headed by co-CEOStephan Kim[ko],the Kakao Entertainment's M Company is in charge of the company's entertainment and mass media business. Its headquarters is inTeheran-ro,Gangnam-guinSeoul.

Subsidiaries

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Under the Page Company

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  • AdPage[a]
  • Daon Creative
  • KW Books
  • Kiwi Vine
  • RS Media
  • Radish Media
  • Samyang C&C
  • Soundist Entertainment
  • Tapas Media
  • Yeondam

Under the M Company

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Entertainment companies

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Talent companies

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Production companies

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Assets

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Buildings

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  • Jungsuck Building (Seoul) - headquarters of the Kakao Entertainment M Company
  • The Kakao Entertainment M Company also owns a building at Samseong-dong in Seoul, where the headquarters of IST Entertainment and Flex M are located.

Internet properties

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Locations

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Extra Info

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  • Tachiyomi,A free and open-source Manga, Manhwa etc. reader app, was forced to stop development after Kakao Entertainment issued a cease-and-desist letter to the developers.[14]

Notes

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  1. ^joint venture withKakao Games

References

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  1. ^abc"Kakao Entertainment".Kakao Entertainment Corp.Archivedfrom the original on May 7, 2021.RetrievedMay 1,2021.
  2. ^Song, Kyoung-son (March 4, 2021)."Kakao M and Kakao Page merged into Kakao Entertainment".Korea JoongAng Daily.Archivedfrom the original on May 7, 2021.RetrievedMay 1,2021.
  3. ^Park, Sae-jin (January 25, 2021)."Kakao units merged into entertainment company targeting global market".Aju Business Daily.Archivedfrom the original on April 26, 2021.RetrievedMay 1,2021.
  4. ^Leesa-Nguansuk, Suchit (January 26, 2021)."South Korea's Kakao affiliates to merge".Bangkok Post.Archivedfrom the original on August 5, 2023.RetrievedMay 1,2021.
  5. ^"Kakao Entertainment Asia Co., Ltd".Match Link Asia.Archivedfrom the original on August 18, 2021.RetrievedAugust 22,2021.
  6. ^Kang, Doo-soon; Oh, Dae-seok; Kang, Woo-seok; Kang, Young-woon; Cho, Jeehyun (December 3, 2020)."Kakao Page close to merging with Kakao M before IPO".Maeil Business News Korea.Archivedfrom the original on April 28, 2021.RetrievedMay 1,2021.
  7. ^"Launch of KAKAO ENTERTAINMENT through strategic merger of Kakao Page and Kakao M".KakaoPageCorp.(Press release).Archivedfrom the original on April 28, 2021.RetrievedMay 1,2021– via PR Newswire.
  8. ^Jo, Ji-young (July 15, 2021)."[공식] 카카오엔터, 음악 플랫폼 멜론 품는다..9월 합병"[[Official] Kakao Entertainment embraces music platform Melon..September merger].Sports Chosun(in Korean).Archivedfrom the original on July 15, 2021.RetrievedJuly 15,2021– viaNaver.
  9. ^Kwak, Hyeon-su (September 17, 2021)."플레이엠·크래커 엔터 통합…에이핑크·더보이즈 한 식구 된다"[PlayM and Creker Enter integration… Apink and The Boyz become one family].YTN(in Korean).Archivedfrom the original on February 25, 2022.RetrievedSeptember 17,2021– viaNaver.
  10. ^Kim, Ye-ji (November 12, 2021).에이핑크 '플레이엠'·더보이즈 '크래커', IST로 통합[Apink's 'PlayM' and The Boyz's 'Cracker' merged into IST].Newsis(in Korean).Archivedfrom the original on November 12, 2021.RetrievedNovember 12,2021– viaNaver.
  11. ^"About Us".1theK.Kakao Entertainment.RetrievedMay 12,2024.
  12. ^"Kakao Entertainment sets a new global standard with the launch of 'KAKAO WEBTOON'".PR Newswire.Archivedfrom the original on June 2, 2021.RetrievedJuly 9,2021– viaYahoo! Finance.
  13. ^Frater, Patrick (December 16, 2021)."Kakao Entertainment Buys Wuxiaworld Online Fiction Platform".Variety.PMC.Archivedfrom the original on January 11, 2022.RetrievedJanuary 10,2022.
  14. ^"Tachiyomi Team Stops App Development After Cease and Desist by Kakao Entertainment".January 14, 2024.
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