Kakao Entertainment

KakaoPage Corp.

Podotree Co, Ltd. was founded on July 20, 2010, as a subsidiary of Kakao, and launched KakaoPage three years later. On August 1, 2018, the company changed its corporate name to KakaoPage Corp.^{[citation needed]}

Kakao M

Seoul Records, Inc. was established in October 1978 by Min Young-bin [ko], the founder of South Korea's leading educational company YBM Group [ko] (formerly Sisa English). In 2005, the company was acquired by SK Telecom and relaunched as LOEN Entertainment, Inc. three years later, before being sold to Star Invest Holdings (a subsidiary of Affinity Equity Partners).^{[citation needed]}

In January 2016, it was taken over by Kakao and renamed again as Kakao M Corp. in December 2017.^{[citation needed]}

In October 2020, the company expanded in Asia by launching a Thailand-based subsidiary called Kakao M Asia (Private) Co., Ltd. (currently Kakao Entertainment Asia Co., Ltd.).

Merger as Kakao Entertainment (2021–present) and reorganisation

In December 2020, Kakao was reported to be considering a merger of its subsidiaries Kakao Page and Kakao M ahead of the former's planned initial public offering, with the merger intended to consolidate Kakao's webtoon, web novel, music and video businesses and strengthen the value of its content intellectual properties. In January 2021, the boards of Kakao Page and Kakao M formally approved the merger, creating Kakao Entertainment, with the merger completed on March 1, 2021.

In May 2021, Kakao Entertainment agreed to acquire U.S.-based serialized-fiction platform Radish for approximately US$440 million, as a part of the former's expansion into the North American market.

In July, the company and Melon Company approved a merger, which was completed on 1 September 2021 following shareholder approval. Melon joined Kakao Entertainment as a company-in-company (CIC), with Lee Je-wook appointed to lead the Melon business.

In September, Kakao Entertainment announced the merger of its music-label subsidiaries Play M Entertainment and Cre.ker Entertainment, named IST Entertainment. The merger was intended to consolidate the companies' artist and production capabilities within the former's multi-label system and was scheduled for completion by the end of the year.

In January 2023, the company secured an investment of ₩1.2 trillion (US$895.34 million) from sovereign wealth funds associated with Saudi Arabia and Singapore. The investment, reported as one of the largest overseas financing deals for a South Korean content company at the time, was intended to support the company's international expansion and potential mergers and acquisitions. The funds were reported to include investments of ₩600 billion (US$447.67 million) each from Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund and Singapore's Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC), although Kakao's initial announcement did not identify the investors by name.

In April 2025, Kakao Entertainment began divesting several loss-making subsidiaries and content platforms as part of efforts to improve its financial position. In February, it sold Next Level Studio, a webtoon and web novel platform acquired in 2022, to an unidentified domestic content company, and sold K-pop agency IST Entertainment to Beyond Music for ₩26.7 billion (US$19.92 million). It also disposed of its 50.07% stake in 3Y Corporation for ₩8.7 billion (US$6.49 million). The company was also winding down its North American digital content businesses, including Tapas Media and Radish Fiction. The divestments formed part of a broader reversal of its acquisition-led expansion strategy, which had increased its subsidiary count from 14 in 2020 to 53 in 2022.

Despite speculation that the restructuring could revive its initial public offering (IPO) plans, Kakao Corporation subsequently moved towards selling a majority stake in Kakao Entertainment rather than pursuing a public listing. In a letter to major financial investors, Kakao reportedly outlined plans to sell its controlling interest following a decline in stock market valuations. Potential buyers were reported to include gaming companies, entertainment groups and private equity firms. Kakao had previously considered a Nasdaq listing for the company, while its domestic IPO plans had remained on hold since 2021.

In July 2026, Anchor Equity Partners began seeking to divest its stake in Kakao Entertainment after plans for a potential initial public offering stalled and an attempted sale failed to result in a transaction. The private equity firm has also pursued refinancing for a loan backed by its investment, which is scheduled to mature at the end of the year. The refinancing discussions, coordinated by JB Woori Capital, came amid rising borrowing costs and limited options for exiting the investment.

In September, Kakao Entertainment announced plans to wind down Tapas, following the closure of Radish in 2025, in which the company had acquired both companies in 2021 for a combined approximate amount of ₩1.1 trillion (US$820.73 million). Tapas had previously recorded a ₩46 billion (US$34.32 million) goodwill impairment in 2023. The closure forms part of a broader restructuring in which Kakao Entertainment plans to consolidate its webtoon and web novel services around KakaoPage by the end of 2026. It marked a change in strategy to focus on its intellectual property and work with established businesses, such as Piccoma in Japan, rather than previously being directly expanding its operations overseas. The restructuring coincides with Kakao's proposed 2027 corporate split into Kakao AI and Kakao X. Kakao Entertainment is expected to become part of Kakao X, alongside other entertainment and investment businesses, with the company pursuing further efficiency measures and consolidation of its content operations.

In October, the company entered into a strategic partnership with Atlantic Music Group, a subsidiary of Warner Music Group, to develop K-pop artists and expand their presence in international markets. The financial terms of the agreement and the artists involved were not publicly disclosed at the time of the announcement. Later on that month, it was reported that its parent, Kakao Corproation, was considering transferring its 21.61% stake in SM Entertainment to the company as part of a broader restructuring of its entertainment business. Kakao Entertainment already holds a 19.89% stake in SM, which would bring its combined ownership to approximately 41.5% if the transaction proceeds.

Page Company

Headed by co-CEO Joy Lee, the Kakao Entertainment's Page Company is in charge of the company's web fiction publishing and web development business. It is situated in Pangyo, Seongnam in Gyeonggi Province.

M Company

Headed by co-CEO Stephan Kim [ko], the Kakao Entertainment's M Company is in charge of the company's entertainment and mass media business. Its headquarters is in Teheran-ro, Gangnam-gu in Seoul.

Under the Page Company

• AdPage
• Daon Creative
• KW Books
• Kiwi Vine
• RS Media
• Radish Media
• Samyang C&C
• Soundist Entertainment
• Tapas Media
• Yeondam

Under the M Company

Buildings

• Jungsuck Building (Seoul) - headquarters of the Kakao Entertainment M Company
• The Kakao Entertainment M Company also owns a building at Samseong-dong in Seoul, where the headquarters of IST Entertainment and Flex M are located.

Internet properties

• 1theK
  • 1theK Live
  • 1theK Originals
  • 1theK Style (coming soon)
• Berriz
• KakaoPage
  • KakaoPage Indonesia (formerly Neobazar) (Indonesia)
• KakaoTV
• Kakao Webtoon
  • Kakao Webtoon (South Korea) (formerly Daum Webtoon)
  • Kakao Webtoon (Indonesia)
  • Kakao Webtoon (Taiwan)
  • Kakao Webtoon (Thailand)
• Melon
• Muse (mobile audition application)
• Radish (US)
  • Wuxiaworld (US)
• Tapas (US)

Discography

Filmography