Kakao's New Closer Jeongsin-a: "I Won't Miss the Timing for Renewal"

Jeongsina Kakao CEO Nominee to Have First Face-to-Face Communication at Emergency Management Meeting on the 18th

Jeong Sin-ah, the designated CEO of Kakao, stated on the 18th, "I believe Kakao does not have much time," and added, "I will make sure not to miss the timing within the given time." This is interpreted as his intention to accelerate the pace of reform as the new head of Kakao's emergency management system.

After the 8th emergency management meeting held at Kakao's Pangyo Ajit in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, Jeong told reporters, "Starting from the reform task force (TF), I will listen to the stories of Kakao crews and plan how to proceed," and added, "Please help a lot and give me your feedback." When asked about the remarks of Kim Beom-su, Kakao's founder and chairman of the management reform committee, during the meeting, he replied, "He said let's work hard so that Kakao can continue to reform."

This was his first direct face-to-face communication since being designated as CEO. Kakao, which has embarked on management reform, held a nomination committee meeting on the morning of the 13th and reported Jeong Sin-ah, CEO of Kakao Ventures who oversees business operations, as the sole candidate for CEO. Jeong will be appointed as the successor to the current CEO Hong Eun-taek after the board meeting and shareholders' meeting in March. Immediately after his designation, he expressed his aspirations, saying, "I feel an immense sense of responsibility and mission to take over new leadership at this important time," and "I will implement proactive responsible management, not autonomous management solely for growth, to meet society's expectations and standards, and focus more on future core business areas."

Jung Shin-ah, the appointed CEO of Kakao, is explaining the future reform direction to reporters after the 8th emergency management meeting ended at Kakao Pangyo Ajit on the 18th. Photo by Cha Min-young

After a brief greeting, Jeong said, "(Kakao) Mobility has suffered a lot because of the reform committee," and gave Kakao Mobility the opportunity to speak. Kakao Mobility is the affiliate at the forefront of the reform efforts within the Kakao group. After promising a complete overhaul of the taxi business within the year, it reached an agreement with taxi organizations and franchise taxi industries on the 15th. The main point is lowering the franchise taxi commission rate from the previous 3-5% level to 2.8%. Ryu Geung-seon, CEO of Kakao Mobility, said, "Not everything will be resolved, but we will continue to make efforts," and added, "We will continue discussions with users (the public), who were excluded from previous talks, to improve the service and become a beloved service."

As the Kakao group tightens the reins on reform, leadership changes are expected to continue. Seventy-seven CEOs of Kakao affiliates are approaching the end of their terms around March to April next year. This accounts for more than half of all affiliates. Major affiliates such as Kakao Entertainment, Kakao Mobility, and Kakao Games are included. Attention is particularly focused on whether the CEO of Kakao Entertainment, which is at the center of business risks, will be replaced. On the same day, the Kakao labor union held a picket protest, urging, "Personnel reform must continue," and called for the resignation of the CEO of Kakao Entertainment. Although Lee Jin-su, CEO of Kakao Entertainment, and Kim Il-du, CEO of Kakao Brain, were spotted attending the meeting, they did not respond to reporters' questions.

Kakao's external oversight body, the 'Compliance and Trust Committee (Junshinwi),' also held its first meeting in the afternoon to support the reform efforts. The seven members of Junshinwi are scheduled to meet at the office located in the EG Building in Daechi-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul. Junshinwi is an independent organization established to reform Kakao's compliance monitoring and internal control system. Since this is the first meeting after the inauguration ceremony last month, it is expected to be a kickoff session. Earlier, Chairman Kim said at a meeting with Junshinwi members, "We respect the independent operation of the committee and will actively support it at the company-wide level," and added, "Please help us so that Kakao can play a socially meaningful role."

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