Kakao Entertainment Establishes New U.S. Subsidiary

Kakao Entertainment, the parent company of webtoon/web novel platform Tapas, has established a new subsidiary in the United States to strengthen its global presence and explore new business opportunities. The new entity, Kakao Entertainment Global (KEG), is based in Los Angeles, California, and will serve as the company’s strategic hub for overseas operations. Yoon-jung Jang, co-CEO of Kakao Entertainment, will lead the new subsidiary.

This move follows Kakao Entertainment‘s earlier collaboration with SM Entertainment to launch a joint venture in North America, focused primarily on expanding music activities such as world tours and new artist development. According to the company, KEG and the Kakao-SM North America joint venture will focus on their respective roles — KEG will lead global initiatives in music, media, and content, while the SM partnership will continue to focus specifically on music-related activities, including album releases, concerts, and broadcast appearances.

Although Kakao Entertainment already had a corporate presence in North America, the new subsidiary was established to support the growing scale of its overseas business and ensure smoother operations. The company is currently recruiting local talent, including financial professionals, to strengthen its U.S. operations.

Industry analysts suggest this move comes as Kakao Entertainment looks to overcome recent growth stagnation and underwhelming financial performance by tapping into the overseas market.

Kakao Entertainment operates across three main business areas: music (entertainment and artist management), story (webtoons and web novels), and media (production). With KEG, the company aims to further globalize these core businesses and secure new revenue streams in international markets.

It had recently been rumored that Kakao was looking to sell Kakao Entertainment, but on April 10 co-CEOs Ki-su Kwon and Yoon-jung Jang addressed the rumors, stating in an internal bulletin that the speculation was “a misunderstanding” stemming from Kakao’s ongoing discussions with financial investors regarding equity changes and the potential replacement of current investment partners.

Source: iNews24 (Yoo-rim Jung)