Shina Chung will depart from Kakao Ventures, the corporate venture arm of South Korea-based internet company Kakao, TechCrunch reported.
After serving 10 years as the chief executive and managing partner for the firm, Chung will become parent company Kakao’s chief executive. She will officially step into her new role in March 2024 and will become the first female CEO of Kakao.
The promotion comes following numerous investigations into alleged antitrust, securities violations and stock price manipulations at Kakao.
Chung spent four years as general manager of Naver Business Platform, a subsidiary of South Korea-based internet conglomerate company Naver. She was also the manager of strategy and business development at eBay and was a consultant at The Boston Consulting Group between 2000 and 2007.
Founded in 2021, Kakao Ventures invests in seed to growth stage startups focusing deep tech, mobile and gaming. The firm has 181 companies in its portfolio and has invested in more than 320 startups including Contoro, Four Pillars and Pilleye.