Line Games Vice President Kim Tae-hwan Resigns, Merger with Kakao Games Imminent?

gamemeca Ⅰ Lee Woo Min 2026.05.22 12:06 UTC+9

TL;DR (2-3 Sentence Summary)

Kim Tae-hwan, vice president of Line Games, has reportedly resigned from the company. According to Gamemeca's investigation, former Line Games Vice President Kim Tae-hwan left Line Games around March-April. He joined Nexon in the early 2000s, serving as head of strategic planning, director of planning coordination, and vice president of Nexon Korea. In 2023, he joined Line Games and was responsible for Line Games' overall business strategy alongside CEO Park Sung-min.

라인게임즈 및 카카오게임즈 CI (사진출처: 라인게임즈 공식 홈페이지, 카카오게임즈 제공) — ▲ Line Games and Kakao Games CI (Photo courtesy of Line Games official website, provided by Kakao Games)

It has come to light that Kim Tae-hwan, Vice President of Line Games, has recently resigned from the company.

According to reporting by Gamemeca, the former Line Games VP, Kim Tae-hwan, left the company around March-April. He's a figure who joined Nexon in the early 2000s, serving as Head of Strategic Planning, Director of Planning Coordination, and Vice President of Nexon Korea. In 2023, he joined Line Games and, alongside CEO Park Sung-min, was responsible for Line Games' overall business strategy.

The reasons behind the former VP's departure and his future plans remain unknown. However, the industry is taking note of the timing of his resignation,which coincides with the change in Kakao Games' largest shareholder in March to LAAA Investment, funded by Line Yahoo.Speculation is rife that this could be a step towards merging Line Games and Kakao Games, with the former VP potentially taking a leadership role at Kakao Games. This speculation has been circulating since the change in Kakao Games' largest shareholder.

The proposed merger between the two companies has been a recurring topic since the change in Kakao Games' largest shareholder. The core idea is to seek a turnaround through a merger, given that both Kakao Games and Line Games have recently experienced operating losses.

In response to these rumours, a Kakao Games representative stated that the entire company is currently focused on preparing new titles for the second half of the year and that there are no ongoing matters involving Line Games. A Line Games representative confirmed the news of Kim's departure but added that there was no information regarding any dealings with Kakao Games.

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This news was translated by AI.

Lee Woo Min, Reporter

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Line Games Vice President Kim Tae-hwan Resigns, Merger with Kakao Games Imminent?