Kakao "Compensation for Free Services Too"... The Key Is Proving the Damage Facts

"Email Not Working, Compensate for My Wasted Time" and More
Diverse Types Make Compensation Difficult and Challenging

Namgoong Hoon (left) and Hong Eun-taek, co-CEOs of Kakao, are offering a public apology on the 19th at Kakao Pangyo Ajit in Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi Province, regarding the large-scale outage caused by a data center fire.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] Kakao, which has restored most services that went down due to a data center fire, is now moving forward with compensation for damages. While Kakao has promised compensation for users of free services as well, proving the actual damage suffered by users is expected to become crucial in receiving such compensation.

Flood of Damage Cases... Difficult to Establish Compensation Policy

On the 21st, Kakao opened a separate reporting channel and has been accepting damage claims related to the service outage for two days. This action follows Kakao CEO Hong Eun-taek's press conference on the 19th, where he stated, "We will consider compensation not only for paid service users but also for users, partners, and various stakeholders affected by this outage."

Currently, various damage cases related to the Kakao service outage are pouring in online. One Daum Mail user said, "I registered password verification emails from a specific site to my Daum Mail, but since I cannot access my mail, I cannot access the site," and added, "I don't know how Kakao can compensate for the time I wasted."

An owner of a PC bang (internet cafe) said, "Many students who do not carry cash or cards often transfer money and pay via KakaoPay," and added, "Last weekend, KakaoPay was not working, so several customers left without making payments on-site."

At an emergency roundtable hosted by the People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy on the 20th regarding the Kakao service outage, various damage cases were also reported. Kim Hong-min, president of the Korea Telecommunications Sales Association, said, "Kakao Gift has become a widely used content where people send gifts via Kakao for birthdays and other anniversaries," and claimed, "Due to the service outage, small business owners lost sales opportunities for their various products, resulting in lost revenue opportunities."

Although various damage cases are pouring in, the lack of grounds for compensation for free services is problematic. Kakao plans to first collect cases and then determine the scope of compensation, but due to the wide variety of cases, there is a high possibility of fairness controversies depending on the compensation criteria. Ultimately, the industry believes it is important for users to secure evidence that can prove specific damages.

A Kakao representative said, "We do not insist that compensation and reimbursement will only be made if there is evidence," adding, "It will take time to create policies after confirming cases, but we will do our best for prompt damage compensation."

Kakao service outage 'Report Damage Cases' page view.

Most Compensation for Paid Service Damages Completed

Kakao is accepting damage claims related to free services and various stakeholders for the next two weeks, while quickly proceeding with compensation for paid services. They believe that prompt compensation is the only way to restore trust.

First, within the KakaoTalk service, initial compensation has been provided for 'Gift Sending', 'Shopping', and 'Emoticon Plus'. For expired products or benefits in Gift Sending, the validity period has been extended. For KakaoPage and KakaoWebtoon, rental periods or expired rental episodes have been extended by up to 96 hours.

KakaoTV, Melon, and Kakao Games have also extended the usage period of tickets or provided compensation in the form of in-game items and currency. In other cases, they plan to set policies and proceed with compensation based on damage claims received.

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