Three months after Daum and Kakao announced their plan for a merger, the deal was finally sealed on Aug. 27.

Led by Lee Sir-goo and Choi Sae-hoon, CEOs of the current Kakao and Daum, respectively, the new brand “Daum-Kakao” will officially launch on the first day of October.

Experts say the merger will put Naver, the nation’s top Internet portal operator, on edge.

By Ro Ji-woong (jamesro@heraldcorp.com)