Mobile messenger and Web-portal operator Daum Kakao said Tuesday that it has decided to change its name to Kakao in a bid to highlight its corporate identity as a leader in the mobile era.

The company came to the limelight when it was established last October as the result of the merger between Web-portal Daum and mobile messenger firm Kakao.

Some market analysts had previously predicted that the company would make efforts to beef up its mobile business platforms rather than the Web services.

Daum Kakao put an end to around 20 services of the Web-portal including mobile messenger My People, and online hard drive Daum Cloud.

In line with the initiative to reinforce the mobile businesses, Daum Kakao named a new chief executive, Rim Ji-hoon, earlier this month.

The new CEO, who will replace former co-CEOs Choi Se-hoon and Lee Sir-goo after receiving approval from the shareholders on Sep. 23, previously led investment firm K Cube Ventures, which specializes in nurturing start-ups.

The approval of shareholders for the name change will be sought on the same day.

By Kim Youngw-won (wone0102@heraldcorp.com)