By Kwanwoo Jun

Shares of Kakao Games Corp., the gaming unit of South Korea's leading messaging-app operator Kakao Corp., surged on their debut on South Korea's stock exchange.

The gaming company's shares hit the daily change limit of 30% at KRW62,400 each, more than double their initial public offering price of KRW24,000, right after the opening bell rang at the tech-heavy Kosdaq market on Thursday.

The strong debut also drove up shares of the company's parent, Kakao Corp., gaining more than 2.0% in early trade on the main Kospi market.

Kakao Games raised up to 998.40 billion won ($842.6 million) from the share offering, which brings its estimated market capitalization to KRW4.568 trillion based on common shares issued so far.

Kakao Corp. owns a 46.08% stake in the gaming company. 



  Write to Kwanwoo Jun at kwanwoo.jun@wsj.com