[Person人] "No Limits to the Name Kakao" Adventurer Preparing for Season 2

Beom-su Kim, Chairman of the Kakao Board of Directors

[Asia Economy Reporter Bu Aeri] "The name Kakao should not have limits, so I am constantly thinking about new adventures." This is what Kim Beom-su, Chairman of Kakao, said in an internal interview marking the 10th anniversary of KakaoTalk. The phrase 'new adventure' is like a label that follows Chairman Kim. At the same time, the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) ignited the fire. Riding the wave of non-face-to-face (untact) trends, Kakao's value expanded, even changing the landscape of South Korea's stock-rich individuals. The valuation of Chairman Kim's shares reached 8.1356 trillion won, surpassing Samsung Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong's 7.7452 trillion won.

◆ From KakaoTalk to Finance, the Unstoppable 'Kakao Universe' = Chairman Kim is creating the 'Kakao Universe' by infinitely expanding business into various fields such as finance, entertainment, content, mobility, and gaming. In this process, Chairman Kim's adventurous spirit played a significant role. All of Kakao's businesses are based on the national messenger 'KakaoTalk,' which has a global user base of 52 million. KakaoTalk is indeed a product born from Chairman Kim's new adventure.

When the iPhone was introduced in Korea, Chairman Kim devoted all the company's capabilities to creating an app suitable for the mobile era and launched 'KakaoTalk' in 2010. After the number of KakaoTalk downloads exceeded 100,000, the company halted development of all other apps and went all-in on KakaoTalk. His gamble paid off. Ten years later, KakaoTalk has grown into the largest messenger in Korea, with 11 billion messages exchanged daily. The name 'KakaoTalk' has since demonstrated strong scalability. Various lifestyle services such as shopping, payment, banking, and mobility have been added based on KakaoTalk.

Chairman Kim's adventurous nature also showed in mergers and acquisitions (M&A). After KakaoTalk's success, Kakao expanded its size through bold M&As. In 2014, it merged with the portal Daum (corporate value 1.059 trillion won), and in 2016, it acquired Loen Entertainment (1.87 trillion won), which operated Korea's largest music service 'Melon,' breaking the record for the largest M&A in the domestic internet industry. At the time of the Loen acquisition, there were many concerns about high costs, but 'Melon,' which Chairman Kim bet on, played a key role as a cash cow, providing a foundation for new business investments.

Those close to Chairman Kim describe him as a 'person who never stays still.' Chairman Kim often tells employees, "A ship is safest when docked at the harbor. But that is not the reason for the ship's existence," urging them to take on challenges. When AI became a trend, he established 'Kakao Brain' and took on the role of CEO, and when the B2B (business-to-business) sector gained attention, he created 'Kakao Enterprise,' proactively creating new ventures himself. As he said, Kakao has continued to sail forward, increasing its affiliates to 97.

◆ 'Kakao Season 2' Toward Another Decade = "Dreaming of a better world than before I was born." This phrase is written in Chairman Kim's KakaoTalk profile status message. Having run toward growth for the past 10 years, Chairman Kim defines the next decade as 'Kakao Season 2.' What Chairman Kim recently urged Kakao employees to focus on is the 'role in solving social problems.' Emphasizing the company's good intentions, Chairman Kim opened the door with 'bold hiring and donations.' In the first half of the year, Kakao hired the largest number of people ever through a 'hiring-linked' internship program. This result reflects Chairman Kim's determination to prepare for Season 2 by selecting good talent. Recently, Chairman Kim donated 1 billion won worth of Kakao shares to the National Disaster Relief Association to aid flood recovery. This was just five months after donating shares worth 2 billion won in March to help overcome COVID-19.

For Chairman Kim, preparing for Season 2, 'global achievements' remain a challenge. Although Kakao has achieved meaningful results overseas with platforms like the Japanese webtoon platform 'Piccoma,' other services have a minimal global presence compared to their domestic success. Aware of this, Chairman Kim encourages Kakao employees, saying, "We must be alert to the overwhelming scale of global IT companies and find our path in the next decade where opportunity and crisis coexist." Recently, Chairman Kim began another journey to strengthen global presence by acquiring a 4.9% stake in the Japanese content giant 'Kadokawa.'