Kakao announces it will completely change for the better

Kim Bum-soo, founder of Kakao and chairman of the Future Initiative Center, speaks during an employee meeting at Kakao\'s headquarters in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, on Nov. 11. Courtesy of Kakao

Kakao, which has been in the biggest crisis since its founding due to internal moral hazard and over-expansion of its businesses, has announced that it will completely change for the better. The company has pledged to change its existing business strategy and corporate culture by ending its autonomous management system, which helped the company achieve enormous growth, and focusing on its key businesses. Kakao will prepare a detailed reform plan and implement it from next year.

"I will work harder with the determination to change even the name of the company in order to create a new Kakao," said Kim Beom-su, founder of Kakao, at a staff meeting at its headquarters in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, on December 11.

"Like a frog in boiling water, I failed to properly recognize the signs of problems that are created as the company failed to live up to people’s expectation," and added, "As a founder, I sincerely apologize for having it come to this point.”

Kim said he will also overhaul Kakao’s governance system to create a structure that strengthens the centripetal force to quickly move away from its loose autonomous management system and accelerate business innovation with a new Kakao.

In addition, Kim announced that there will be a management shakeup. "I want to make a new ship and leadership for Kakao," he said, adding, "It's going to be a long and difficult process that could make some people uncomfortable and require sacrifices, but please join us on this journey to make innovations.”

He also expressed the need to overhaul Kakao's corporate culture. "We need to create our own culture from scratch that is suitable for the present and future," Kim said. "We need to review the use of English names, information sharing, and horizontal culture that we have taken for granted."

※This article has undergone review by a professional translator after being translated by an AI translation tool.