S.Korea's Kakao Pay shares rebound after CEO, others step down amid stock options criticism

Kakaopay

21/01/2022 01:53

SEOUL, Jan 21 (Reuters) - Shares in South Korean financial
services firm Kakao Pay Corp  377300.KS  jumped on Friday after
the company said its CEO and two other executives were stepping
down following a slump in the stock, amid fierce criticism of
their exercising of stock options soon after the firm listed
last November.
    The shares surged as much as 11% on Friday, as the wider
market  .KS11  slipped 1.2%, following the executives'
departure, announced late on Thursday.
    The stock had tumbled 35% as of Thursday's close since
regulatory filings in early December showed about 90 billion won
($75 million) worth of stock options in Kakao Pay were exercised
by the departing officials and others soon after the listing.  
    Analysts attributed the fall partly to the negative impact
on investor confidence caused by stock option exercise, although
the transactions were all legal. Shares in affiliate Kakao Bank
 323410.KS  have also fallen since early December. 
    Kakao Pay said that among the eight executives that
exercised stock options, five who will stay on at the firm at
Kakao Pay, including incoming chief executive Shin Won-keun,
will repurchase the shares they sold to strengthen responsible
management. 

     ($1 = 1,193.7600 won)

 (Reporting by Joyce Lee and Heekyong Yang; Editing by Kenneth
Maxwell)
 ((joyce.lee@tr.com;))