[For more diverse corporate information on the startups mentioned in this article, please visit Unicorn Factory's big data platform 'Data Lab'.]
Former Kakao CEO Im Ji-hoon has filed another lawsuit demanding performance bonuses from Kakao Ventures (formerly K Cube Ventures) and Kakao founder Kim Beom-su. This comes one year and six months after a previous lawsuit regarding performance bonus payments was concluded following the court's recommendation for mediation.
On the 16th, Im Jeon (CEO) announced through a statement that he filed a lawsuit the previous day demanding the fulfillment of the 'Kakao Youth Startup Fund' performance fee contract against Kakao Ventures and founder Kim.
According to Im Jeon (CEO), while serving as CEO of Kakao Ventures in 2015, he signed a contract setting the priority allocation at 60%. However, upon assuming the role of Kakao CEO later that September, he signed an amended contract lowering the priority allocation to 22% at the request of founder Kim.
He further explained that during his departure from the Kakao CEO position in February 2018, he received a separate confirmation letter from Kakao Ventures. Im Jeon (CEO) claims this confirmation letter, stamped with the corporate seal, stated: "In exchange for lowering the priority allocation rate, 100% (the amended 22% priority allocation) will be paid regardless of the period of duty performance."
It appears that conflicts between Im Jeon (CEO) and Kakao Ventures resurfaced when the Kakao Youth Startup Fund was liquidated this July. The fund was established in April 2013 with a scale of 30 billion won. At the time, Kakao contributed 10 billion won, while Korea Venture Capital's fund of funds (Korea venture fund) contributed 18 billion won. Danamoo is the fund's representative portfolio company; it is interpreted that Naver Financial's recent acquisition of Danamoo boosted the fund's performance.
In response, a Kakao Ventures official stated, "As a result of legal review, it was confirmed that there is no obligation to pay," adding, "We will follow the court's judgment in the future."
Previously, Im Jeon (CEO) filed a lawsuit seeking approximately 59.8 billion won in performance bonuses against Kakao Ventures but lost at the first instance in November 2023. At that time, the court ruled that the contract itself was invalid because the content of the amended performance bonus agreement did not undergo corporate law procedures such as shareholder meeting resolutions. This lawsuit was concluded when both parties reached a settlement following the court's recommendation for mediation in March 2025 while the appeal trial was underway.
While past lawsuits centered on procedural defects under the Commercial Act (regarding shareholder meeting resolutions), this lawsuit is expected to focus on the substantive issue of payment refusal occurring after the fund's liquidation and the validity of the confirmation letter bearing the corporate seal.
[MoneyToday startup media platform Unicorn Factory]
in FUTURE
