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Former Kakao Pay CEO Ryu Young-joon Establishes Real Estate and Restaurant Business 'Wanna Asset F&B'

[비즈한국] It has been confirmed that Ryu Young-joon, former CEO of Kakao Pay377300, established a corporation named Wanna Asset F&B last October. Former CEO Ryu serves as the CEO of Wanna Asset F&B, while his wife, surnamed Han, serves as the auditor. Previously, in May 2023, Ryu had established a real estate-related corporation called 'Wanna Asset' (Related article: [Exclusive] '47 Billion Won Stock Option Cash-out' Former Kakao Pay CEO Ryu Young-joon Establishes Real Estate and Financial Investment Firm).

Typically, "F&B" is a term used for food and beverage companies. According to the corporate registry, the business objectives of Wanna Asset F&B include: residential and non-residential real estate leasing and subleasing; real estate sales and consulting; management consulting; financial advisory, investment, and consulting; wholesale and retail of food, beverages, and tobacco; restaurant operations; pub and non-alcoholic beverage shop operations; wholesale and retail of household goods and general merchandise; non-store retail; and facility maintenance and management services.

The office address of Wanna Asset F&B registered in the corporate registry is in the basement of a building in Yeoksam-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul. Bizhankook visited the building on April 3. A branch of "L," a food court chain, was located in the basement. However, despite it being a weekday, the L branch was closed. A nearby merchant said, "They were operating until recently, but they haven't opened since the day before yesterday."

Bizhankook attempted to contact the company using the headquarters phone number listed on L's website, but only received a message stating, "We are unable to take your call due to customer circumstances." An email inquiry was also sent, but no response was received.

Former CEO Ryu Young-joon sparked controversy over a "hit-and-run" cash-out by exercising his stock options while serving as CEO of Kakao Pay. In December 2021, he exercised his stock options to sell 230,000 shares of Kakao Pay, cashing out 46.9 billion won. After hitting a high of 248,500 won following its listing in November 2021, Kakao Pay's stock price declined steadily after the executives, including former CEO Ryu, exercised their stock options. Currently, Kakao Pay's stock price is at the 30,000 won level.

In January 2022, former CEO Ryu stated, "I apologize to everyone who felt uncomfortable with the management's exercise of stock options and the subsequent sale," adding, "It has served as an opportunity for me to rethink the weight and sense of responsibility that an executive of a listed company should possess."