Kakao Entertainment to close Tapas Entertainment's Korean branch next month

SEOUL, March 14 (Yonhap) -- Kakao Entertainment Corp. plans to close the Korean unit of Tapas Entertainment, a North American webtoon and webnovel platform, next month, industry sources said Tuesday.

The entertainment arm under tech giant Kakao has recently notified Tapas Entertainment's employees of its plan to liquidate the Korean unit and offered consolation money to those who wish to retire, sources said.

After its closure, Kakao Entertainment is expected to absorb the Korean office's marketing and platform management departments.

"(Kakao Entertainment) decided to liquidate the Korean branch to improve business efficiency and competitiveness," a Kakao Entertainment official said, asking not to be named.

Kakao Entertainment acquired Tapas Media, a major webtoon platform in North America, for US$510 million and Radish, a large U.S. webnovel company, for $510 million in 2021 and merged them to establish Tapas Entertainment last year.

ejkim@yna.co.kr
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