[비즈한국] It has been confirmed that former CEO Baek Sang-yeop, who stepped down as the head of Kakao035720's subsidiary, Kakao Enterprise, in May of last year to take responsibility for large-scale restructuring, has recently left the company to establish his own private firm. After resigning as CEO, Baek had previously drawn criticism for receiving a high consulting fee while serving as an advisor.
It has been revealed that Baek Sang-yeop, who was appointed as an advisor immediately upon resigning as CEO of Kakao Enterprise last May, has stepped down from that advisory role after one year. Baek had pushed for large-scale restructuring due to mismanagement at Kakao Enterprise and resigned as CEO claiming he would take responsibility. However, he immediately signed an advisory contract and received a high consulting fee, which drew backlash from the Kakao labor union.
Baek's term as an advisor was one year, expiring this past May. With this, he has completely severed ties with Kakao Enterprise, where he had spent five years.
Two months after leaving Kakao Enterprise, Baek has established a private company to continue his business activities. According to the corporate registry, Baek founded "SHS Partners Co., Ltd." on July 15 with a capital of 10 million won. The business objectives include "management consulting," "AI and cloud IT system R&D and strategic consulting," "pharmacy operations and wholesale/retail of pharmaceuticals," "real estate operations," and "securities and financial investment." Given the similarity in business objectives to Kakao Enterprise, it appears he intends to continue management activities in the same industry.
Upon establishing SHS Partners, Baek did not secure a separate office space, instead registering his own residence as the company's headquarters. It is understood that there are no other executives besides his wife, whom he appointed as an internal director. Regarding this, Baek's side stated, "It is a personal matter, so it is difficult to provide an answer."