Kakao's emergence as the dominant player in South Korea can be attributed to Kim's prescient timing in starting his company, says Joseph Chung, an analyst at Woori Investment & Securities. "He is a thoughtful, brilliant entrepreneur who's made it his personal mission to have Kakao thrive as a global communications platform." (Through a company spokeswoman, Brian Kim declined to comment for this story.) "Korea is known as the 'land of the morning calm,' and I would call him the 'morning calm billionaire,' " says Eric Kim, a managing partner at Goodwater Capital who sits on Kakao's board. In April, a month before the Kakao-Daum deal was announced, FORBES ASIA estimated his wealth at $960 million. On that basis Kim will be worth at least $3.4 billion, putting him among the country's ten richest people. Kim, 48, will own 40% of the combined company, and analysts predict a minimum value of $8.5 billion. Kakao is merging with Daum, the country's second-largest Internet portal, and is listing on the South Korean Stock Exchange on Oct. KakaoTalk has now made Kim a billionaire. cofounder and chairman, "Brian" Kim Bum-Soo, who launched the service in 2010 and ever since has been perfecting a mobile universe inhabited by 93% of domestic smartphone users-or nearly 75% of the country's 50 million people. On KakaoTalk, South Korea's number one mobile-messaging service, users spend hours crushing candy on popular games, sharing photos and videos with friends, and sending cute emoticons and digital stickers.
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