[2025 National Audit] Kakao Vice President: "Rolling Back KakaoTalk Is Difficult...We Will Improve User Inconvenience"

On October 14, Kakao Vice President Woo Younggyu stated during the National Assembly's Science, ICT, Broadcasting, and Communications Committee audit that rolling back the KakaoTalk update is technically impossible.

Amid a surge of user complaints following the KakaoTalk update, Assemblywoman Hwang Jeonga of the Democratic Party of Korea asked whether it would be possible to roll back the update. Vice President Woo explained, "It is technically impossible."

Vice President Woo further explained, "Users who have not installed the update can continue using the previous version, but there may be issues in terms of after-sales support." He added, "We are well aware of users' inconveniences and are closely monitoring the situation. We will make improvements as soon as possible."

However, regarding some industry claims that the rollback is being avoided for advertising revenue, he dismissed the allegation, saying, "That is not true."

Additionally, regarding the function that exposes short-form (brief video) content indiscriminately to minors, Vice President Woo stated, "We are following the Personal Information Protection Commission's guidelines, which prohibit the collection of behavioral data for personalized advertising from users under the age of 14."

He added, "For users aged 15 and older, we collect and utilize behavioral data based on non-identifiable information. When using identifiable behavioral information, we will follow the recommendations of the Personal Information Protection Commission and obtain prior consent."