Grip Company, operator of the commerce creator platform "Grip," announced on the 10th that it has appointed Kang Seok-jong, former Vice President of DK Tech, as Chief Operating Officer (COO). The company plans to use this appointment as an opportunity to strengthen its partnership with Kakao Group and enhance the competitiveness of its live commerce business.
Kang Seok-jong, COO, is an e-commerce expert with nearly 20 years of experience in various fields, including commerce platform planning, service strategy, investment and mergers and acquisitions (M&A), and product operations, working for various companies, including Kakao, Connectwave, and Hana Securities. In 2025, he served as Vice President of Kakao Work at DK Techin, Kakao's IT development subsidiary, where he oversaw the business strategy and organizational operations of the B2B collaboration tool, Kakao Work.
Starting in 2021, he worked at Kakao for approximately three years, responsible for reviewing investments and acquisitions in commerce and IT companies, and participated in the acquisitions of ZigZag and Grip Company. Based on corporate analysis, he also developed post-acquisition organizational and business integration strategies and designed synergy creation plans. Furthermore, for approximately eight years since 2011, he contributed to the growth of Kakao's commerce business by overseeing planning, strategy, and product management for key commerce services, including KakaoTalk Store, KakaoTalk Channel, and Gifting.
At Grip Company, COO Kang will form an internal task force (TF) to strengthen collaboration with Kakao and expand collaboration opportunities in key business areas, including KakaoTalk channels and short-form content. He will also expand collaboration in management infrastructure areas, such as finance and general affairs, to strengthen strategic ties with the Kakao Group.
He will also oversee collaboration with various partners and work to vitalize the live commerce ecosystem. Drawing on his experience in platform planning, commerce strategy, and investment, he plans to explore strategic investments, partnerships, and mergers and acquisitions to identify growth opportunities for the company. He will also provide management decision-making support, provide strategic advisory services, and drive global market entry strategies.
COO Kang Seok-jong said, “Grip is a platform that has realized the essence of commerce by focusing on trust with regular customers rather than simply using live commerce as a sales channel.” He added, “Based on the e-commerce experience and platform connection capabilities we have accumulated over the years, we will contribute to growing into a competitive service in the global market.”
The commerce industry is currently experiencing active cross-platform collaboration and business expansion, centered around live commerce and creator-based sales channels.
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