Namgung Hun, Kakao CEO, Abruptly Resigns... Responsible for Kakao Outage Crisis

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Yuri Choi] Namgoong Hoon, co-CEO of Kakao, has resigned taking responsibility for the Kakao service outage caused by the SK C&C data center fire. Namgoong, who took office in March this year, stepped down before completing even one year of his term.

On the 11th, Namgoong Hoon and Hong Eun-taek, co-CEOs of Kakao, held an emergency press conference at the Pangyo headquarters in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, where they issued a public apology and announced Namgoong’s resignation. This decision came five days after the fire on the 15th caused a complete shutdown of Kakao services.

Namgoong said, "My heart grows heavier when I think of the users and partners who rely on Kakao services," adding, "I understand that restoring lost trust requires greater and longer efforts than ever before," bowing his head. He continued, "Feeling a deep sense of despair and heavy responsibility, I have decided to step down as CEO to reaffirm my commitment to reform and change, and I will take on the role of disaster countermeasure committee chair with a strong sense of responsibility," expressing his intention to resign.

CEO Hong Eun-taek also bowed his head, stating, "We will establish compensation policies for users, partners, and all stakeholders affected by this outage and implement them as quickly as possible."

Namgoong, who had been appointed as a ‘relief pitcher’ to resolve moral hazard controversies and stock price declines within Kakao Pay’s management, faced the company’s greatest crisis since its founding due to the service outage and resigned taking responsibility. With Namgoong’s resignation, Kakao will transition to a sole CEO system under Hong Eun-taek. Hong, who is serving as the emergency response committee chair for the fire incident, plans to devote all efforts to resolving the situation. He will prepare stringent measures to prevent recurrence of similar incidents and establish compensation policies for the victims.

Following the Pangyo data center fire, an unprecedented situation occurred where the national messenger KakaoTalk went down. Major services such as Kakao Mobility and Kakao Pay also experienced frequent disruptions, causing significant inconvenience to most of the public. Although power supply to the data center was restored on the day, some Kakao services have yet to return to normal.

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