'Communication King' Kakao Namgung Hoon... Meets Reporters Again Before Taking Office as CEO

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Nahum] Namgung Hoon, the designated CEO of Kakao, will hold another communication session with the media before and after his inauguration, following the online press conference held on the 24th.

On the 27th, a Kakao official stated, "Namgung Hoon wants to have another opportunity to communicate with reporters," adding, "It is too early to specify the exact timing, but like the previous meeting, it will be a session to discuss Kakao's future vision."

Namgung previously held a communication session with reporters on the 24th under the name "Press Tea Meeting." At that time, he revealed his plan to build a metaverse service based on open chat to propel Kakao into a global company.

Namgung is scheduled to officially take office after the regular shareholders' meeting and board meeting on the 29th of next month. Accordingly, there is a high possibility that another external communication session with media outlets will be arranged around mid-March.

Namgung has been actively engaging in communication daily. Starting the day after his designation on the 21st of last month, he opened a channel called "Vision Talk with NK (Namgung Hoon's English name)" on the internal community board, Ajit. Through this channel, he has been having candid conversations with employees on various topics, ranging from his personal hair loss stories to sensitive issues like employee salary increases.

He is also continuing communication through social networking services (SNS). His declaration to receive only the minimum wage until Kakao's stock price reaches 150,000 won was made via his SNS. At that time, he said, "During my term, compensation will be linked to the stock price and created together with the crew (employees)," adding, "Your help and support are truly needed."

Kakao's stock price and employee morale had declined due to controversies over the employee evaluation system, the impact of some services on local businesses, and stock option 'eat-and-run' scandals involving key affiliate executives. Unlike previous CEOs who passed through Kakao, Namgung's unprecedented approach of sharing the company's growth vision and messages internally and externally before taking office is being credited with revitalizing the entire Kakao community.

Regarding his communication efforts at the online press conference on the 24th, Namgung said, "Since starting communication with all employees on the internal bulletin board, my feelings have changed significantly. I realized there are many employees who truly love Kakao," adding, "If such passionate employees are together, I believe I can do well too."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.