Jeongsin-a Kakao CEO "Annual Stock Purchase Worth 200 Million Won... Commitment to Responsible Management"

Jeong Shin-ah, CEO of Kakao, announced that he will strengthen responsible management by purchasing Kakao shares worth 200 million KRW annually.

On the 16th, CEO Jeong sent a shareholder letter for the first time among all previous CEOs to expand communication with shareholders and enhance shareholder value. He expressed his commitment to strengthening responsible management while outlining Kakao's growth direction.

In the shareholder letter, CEO Jeong stated, "During my tenure, I plan to purchase shares worth 100 million KRW twice a year on the open market," adding, "The Kakao shares purchased will not be sold during my tenure as CEO, as I intend to align my interests with those of the shareholders."

CEO Jeong executed the first open market purchase on May 16, the day he sent the shareholder letter. He plans to buy shares after the earnings announcements in February and August each year. Additionally, he has established a compensation system based on shareholder returns to enhance shareholder value.

He also shared plans for Kakao's growth direction. In the short term, the strategy is to strengthen the competitiveness of the advertising business and the gift-giving business based on KakaoTalk traffic. In the long term, growth will focus on two pillars: global business expansion and artificial intelligence (AI).

Regarding AI, he reiterated the intention to focus on user-centered services. CEO Jeong said, "Kakao is already preparing AI-based chatbot services for expert consultations, customer management, and product recommendation services," adding, "Through this, we will improve the work efficiency of corporate clients and bring AI closer to users' daily lives."

Furthermore, he explained that Kakao is establishing governance and decision-making systems appropriate to the company's scale to achieve sustainable growth aligned with societal expectations.

Earlier this year, Kakao strengthened its external investment process, and in April, it established an executive appointment process that enhances procedures from candidate list formation to personnel verification. The company is increasing transparency by strengthening board independence and continuously communicating with and being verified by the external independent Compliance and Trust Committee.

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