Seoul: Kakao Corp. has completed the legal and administrative procedure to spin off Daum, fully separating the country's second-largest internet portal from the company, industry sources said. Daum's service provider has been officially changed to AXZ Corp., a wholly owned subsidiary of Kakao, as of Monday, according to the sources. Daum's terms and conditions have also been updated to list AXZ as the operator.

According to Yonhap News Agency, Daum is now fully separated from Kakao, coming 11 years after the two companies merged in 2014. "We have completed system checks related to the change in Daum's service provider," a Kakao official stated. "We plan to wrap up the business transfer by the end of the year."

Kakao informed users that they can continue logging into Daum with their integrated Kakao accounts and access services without disruption. The spinoff plan was announced in May as part of Kakao's broader strategy to revive Daum's competitiveness amid a declining market share.