(Bloomberg) — Kakao Pay Corp. jumped the most in almost two months after its three most senior executives handed in their resignations, appeasing investors incensed at the way management sold off shares after the company’s blockbuster debut last year.
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The fintech arm of South Korean social media and gaming leader advanced as much as 11% in the morning, leading gains in Kakao Corp. affiliates including KakaoBank Corp.
Chief Executive Officer Alex Ryu, Chief Financial Officer Kijoo Chang and Chief Business Officer Jin Lee told Kakao Thursday of their intention to quit. While Ryu’s term was slated to end in March, the departures of his two closest lieutenants came as a surprise and will take immediate effect. The Korean company’s board will vote on Ryu’s departure soon, a spokeswoman said.
Ryu last week abruptly withdrew his candidacy to lead parent Kakao Corp., casting doubt over leadership of the South Korean tech giant, which nominated another candidate Thursday. That came after Ryu and other executives were criticized by shareholders for selling down some of their stake in the stock-market darling following its blockbuster debut in November. The sales soured investor sentiment and triggered a selloff that at one point wiped out more than $25 billion of market value in Kakao Pay and affiliates like KakaoBank.
Read more: Korea’s Largest Payments App More Than Doubles in Debut
The resignations emerged a day after local media including Yonhap News reported that police were looking into allegations raised by a civic group that Kakao’s founder, Brian Kim, dodged 886 billion won ($743 million) of taxes during the merger of Kakao and Daum in 2014. Kakao called the allegations “groundless,” adding that the merger had been cleared by shareholders.
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