YouTube Agrees to Follow Australia’s New Under-16 Social Media Ban 
Amazon Debuts “Amazon Now” for 30-Minute Ultrafast Grocery Delivery 
Tesla Faces 19% Drop in UK Registrations as Competition Intensifies 
Rio Tinto Raises 2025 Copper Output Outlook as Oyu Tolgoi Expansion Accelerates 
Morgan Stanley Boosts Nvidia and Broadcom Targets as AI Demand Surges 
U.S. Backs Bayer in Supreme Court Battle Over Roundup Cancer Lawsuits 
Bristol Myers Faces $6.7 Billion Lawsuit After Judge Allows Key Shareholder Claims to Proceed 
Wikipedia Pushes for AI Licensing Deals as Jimmy Wales Calls for Fair Compensation 
Momenta Quietly Moves Toward Hong Kong IPO Amid Rising China-U.S. Tensions 
Australia Moves Forward With Teen Social Media Ban as Platforms Begin Lockouts 
Netflix’s Bid for Warner Bros Discovery Aims to Cut Streaming Costs and Reshape the Industry 
Sam Altman Reportedly Explored Funding for Rocket Venture in Potential Challenge to SpaceX 
Microchip Technology Boosts Q3 Outlook on Strong Bookings Momentum 
UPS MD-11 Crash Prompts Families to Prepare Wrongful Death Lawsuit 
ExxonMobil to Shut Older Singapore Steam Cracker Amid Global Petrochemical Downturn 
EU Prepares Antitrust Probe Into Meta’s AI Integration on WhatsApp 
Michael Dell Pledges $6.25 Billion to Boost Children’s Investment Accounts Under Trump Initiative 
Kakao Corporation is reportedly preparing to replace the executives of SM Entertainment Co. Ltd. with more competent leaders. The internet company can make this kind of decision as it became the largest shareholder of the entertainment agency last year after acquiring a 39.9% stake for $963 million.
According to The Korea Economic Daily, Kakao Corp. will appoint new executives to lead SM Entertainment. It was learned that the executives who will be fired are the same ones who ousted the company's founder, Lee Soo Man.
Reason for Job Termination
Kakao decided to dismiss the current executives of SM Entertainment as they have shown poor corporate governance. It was mentioned that those who will be replaced include Jang Cheol Hyuk, the chief executive officer; Lee Sung Soo, the chief artists and repertoire (A&R) officer; Park Jun Young, chief creative officer; and Tak Young Jun, the current executive director and chief operating officer.
Kakao Entertainment will establish a new leadership group because the company reportedly failed to curb cloudy acquisitions and investments by SM executives. These critical activities were done without any consultation with Kakao, so the deals have become dubious.
The mentioned top management officials are set to be replaced around 10 months after Kakao purchased a considerable stake in SM, beating HYBE Co. in the bid. Kakao will assign new leaders and seek better corporate governance through cooperation with Align Partners Capital Management, a local activist fund group.
Kakao's Concern
As part of the move for leadership reorganization, Kakao Corp. is also looking into SM Entertainment's financials. It has launched an investigation as it is concerned that some issues could arise from the SM executives' questionable acquisitions and investments.
These issues may hurt Kakao, primarily if anomalies are found in the dealings. Bloomberg reported that the company hired a law firm to check on SM Entertainment's financial books, and the request was made by the firm's board's audit committee.
Photo by: Kakao Newsroom
