Kakao Emphasizes Coexistence with "Let's Go Together"... Will Spend 300 Billion Won on Coexistence Fund Over 5 Years

원본보기 아이콘

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Nahum] Namgung Hoon, CEO of Kakao, emphasized "coexistence" and "global" as the key messages at his first press conference since taking office. The plan is to operate coexistence programs centered on partners that make up the Kakao community and help creators expand globally, aiming to increase overseas sales to 30% within three years.

On the 6th, CEO Namgung announced the coexistence plan for the Kakao community and the direction of global business development at an online press conference. Kim Seongsu, Chairman of Kakao’s Board, and Hong Euntaek, Co-Director of the Community Alignment Center (CAC), also attended the conference.

In his opening remarks, CEO Namgung said, "There is a saying that even if you have a thousand beads, they only become treasures when strung together. Kakao has various service infrastructure users, but I felt that the role of the thread and needle connecting them was somewhat lacking. During my term, I plan to focus on this aspect and organically connect our assets."

He added, "I take becoming the CEO of Kakao so seriously that I consider it my last quest in my working life. I will continuously uphold the values demanded of Kakao and take on new challenges for the next ten years."

Following this, Director Hong revealed the direction for utilizing the coexistence fund established at the community level. First, Kakao plans to raise a coexistence fund of 300 billion KRW over five years to support small business owners, creators, platform workers, social innovators, local communities, and digital underprivileged groups. The ‘Sosin Sangin’ project, aimed at helping small business owners with digital communication, will also launch in the first half of the year. This program supports small business owners in securing regular customers through KakaoTalk channels and conducting mobile marketing.

The ‘Jegabeochi’ project, which expands sales channels for domestic agricultural and marine products, will also be expanded. The plan is to purchase surplus agricultural products in bulk and sell them through Kakao Makers to alleviate difficulties faced by farmers and fishermen. Kakao Entertainment will invest at least 10 billion KRW over the next five years to establish the ‘Kakao Entertainment Creative Support Foundation’ (tentative name). The foundation will provide various programs to improve treatment, including creative support, psychological therapy for creators, and legal support for copyright issues.

Support for the future of the mobility market is also being prepared. Measures are being developed for the taxi industry, which faces difficulties transitioning to electric vehicles due to insufficient driving range and charging infrastructure. Additionally, various alternatives to support mobility-vulnerable groups are being considered, and efforts will be made to ensure the mobility industry as a whole can exert a socially positive influence.

Chairman Kim announced plans and goals to realize Kakao’s global expansion vision, ‘Beyond Korea.’ He stated that Kakao aims to increase its overseas sales ratio from 10% to 30% within three years and raise the overseas sales of the Kakao community by more than 40% compared to the previous year this year.

© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.