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Kakao Entertainment Corp. is reportedly discontinuing the Korean division of Tapas Entertainment, a next-generation media and entertainment firm, next month. The entertainment and mass media arm of the Kakao Group said that this move is part of its ongoing restructuring scheme.
According to Yonhap News Agency, Kakao Entertainment already informed employees of Tapas Entertainment that it is planning to close its Korean office. Business insiders said that for staff who will choose to retire, the company is offering some consolation money. The company is also expected to take on the marketing and management divisions of the office.
An official of the company said, "Kakao Entertainment decided to liquidate the Korean branch to improve business efficiency and competitiveness."
Tech Crunch reported that the entertainment firm did not say how many employees are affected by the closure of Tapas Korea, but some local media outlets said that the unit has around 20 staff. Kakao acquired Tapas in 2021 for $510 million and merged it with Radish Media which it also acquired for the same price at that time. With the combined firms, the Korean company formed Tapas Entertainment which is operating its storytelling business, including webtoons.
"Tapas Entertainment is streamlining operations to respond flexibly and quickly in the North American market in response to the global economic downturn," the company's spokesman told TechCrunch. "Tapas Korea has been in the service of operation and marketing of Tapas Entertainment that is headquartered in the U.S."
The spokesman further commented that the ongoing company restructuring is not in any way related to Kakao's acquisition of SM Entertainment. At any rate, the news of Tapas Entertainment's Korean branch closure comes almost two months after Kakao Entertainment raised funds amounting to KRW1.2 trillion or about $966 million earlier this year. It said that this would be used to finance its global expansion and acquisitions.
