Kakao committee to keep tabs on management after scandal-hit year

Kakao's new autonomous external body will have the power to monitor management decisions made by Kakao subsidiaries as part of the company's initiative to revamp its corporate management following a series of scandals that have hit its reputation.

Kim So-young, head of Kakao's Compliance and Credibility Committee, opens the committee's first meeting on Monday. [KAKAO]

Kakao's new autonomous external body will have the power to monitor management decisions made by Kakao subsidiaries as part of the company's initiative to revamp its corporate management following a series of scandals that have dampened its reputation.

The body, known as the Compliance and Credibility Committee, will have the authority to directly investigate issues that violate legal compliance in management. The committee is also empowered to review subsidiaries’ management procedures, including large-scale stock transactions and organizational changes such as mergers, divisions, acquisitions and initial public offerings.

If the committee identifies any risks of illegalities, it has the authority to request subsidiaries to submit additional information or reports.

The committee's opinions will also be presented to the board of directors in cases of legal breaches involving top executives.

The committee was founded on Dec. 11 and appointed former Supreme Court Justice Kim So-young as the head.

It will oversee six Kakao subsidiaries — Kakao, Kakao Games, Kakao Bank, Kakao Moblity, Kakao Pay and Kakao Entertainment.

Kakao's Compliance and Credibility Committee held its first meeting on Monday and announced a new set of regulations which allows the committee to oversee Kakao subsidiaries' management activities. [KAKAO]

“The committee will ensure that Kakao fully embraces its social responsibility to carry out compliance management as it opens the door to change,” Kim said at the first committee meeting on Monday. “Compliance management will not be realized in a day, but the committee will come up with a compliance program after meeting with Kakao employees, including Kakao founder Kim Beom-su, top executives and labor unions.

“We exist not only to momentarily surpass the current crisis, but to play a full role in formulating the proper guidelines for internal regulations so that Kakao will always be able to make the right choice in the future.”

BY LEE JAE-LIM [lee.jaelim@joongang.co.kr]