Founder Profile
Beom-soo Kim
Last reviewed: October 2026 · By Swet Parvadiya
Who is Beom-soo Kim?
Beom-soo Kim is a founder of Kakao Corp., which was founded in 2006.
- Company founded
- Kakao Corp.
- Founded
- 2006
Background
Kim Beom-su (Brian Kim) co-founded the online game portal Hangame in 1998, which merged with Naver to form NHN, where he served as co-CEO before leaving in 2007. He founded IWILAB in 2006, which launched KakaoTalk in 2010 and became Kakao.
Founding Story
Kim Beom-su studied industrial engineering at Seoul National University and worked at Samsung SDS before starting Hangame. After NHN he founded IWILAB, whose team launched KakaoTalk in March 2010 as a free, data-based alternative to paid SMS. He led Kakao through the 2014 Daum merger and its expansion into payments, mobility, and content, stepped back from day-to-day management, and in 2021 pledged to give away more than half of his wealth, joining The Giving Pledge. He remains Kakao's largest shareholder (13.27% as of June 2026, with friendly stakes via K Cube Holdings bringing the total to about 24%) and heads its CA council's Future Initiative Center. He was arrested in July 2024 over alleged SM Entertainment share manipulation, acquitted at first instance in October 2025, and faces an appeal verdict in November 2026.