[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] “Kakao has various services, infrastructure, and users, but it lacks the role of the thread and needle that connects them all.”
At the first meeting since his appointment earlier this month, Namgung Hoon, CEO of Kakao, who made critical remarks about the internal system, has taken it upon himself to strengthen ‘communication’ and play the role of the ‘thread and needle.’ Immediately after his appointment, CEO Namgung began enhancing communication by establishing a separate bulletin board, planning to connect Kakao as one through linking various departments and employees.
Eliminating Weekly Reports, Emphasizing Real-Time Communication
According to Kakao on the 24th, right after his appointment, CEO Namgung created a separate bulletin board on the company intranet to start communication with employees on various topics without fixed themes such as questions, suggestions, and proposals. This aims to frequently announce work-related issues or decisions so that employees can transparently understand the company’s direction.
In particular, since his time as CEO of Kakao Games, Namgung has insisted on real-time reporting instead of weekly meetings and weekly reports. This is due to side effects such as the dilution of the importance of tasks during the process of compiling reports by department heads and their superiors. CEO Namgung shared this internally, emphasizing not to spend too much effort on reports but to focus on the work process itself.
Two Months in Office, 20 Meetings Held
Additionally, CEO Namgung frequently posts management issues and his thoughts on the internal community ‘Ajit’ and monitors employees’ real-time reactions. Employees can express their opinions by selecting ‘Like’ or ‘Dislike’ on posts in this space. Regarding this, a Kakao official said, “Generally, one might think a CEO’s post would not receive ‘Dislikes,’ but in our horizontal organizational culture, employees actively express their opinions, and the CEO reflects on them.”
Since his inauguration last month, CEO Namgung has held about 20 small-scale online and offline meetings over two months to discuss Kakao’s vision and direction. Meetings were held with five participants each, based on topics chosen by employees such as service, marketing, corporate culture, metaverse, artificial intelligence (AI), and ESG (environment, social, governance). This move follows CEO Namgung’s statement at the previous meeting, where he took on the role of the thread and needle, saying, “During my term, I will focus on organically connecting these assets.”
“A Post Written by a Senior Colleague, Not the CEO”
CEO Namgung has also started conveying his management philosophy externally through Kakao’s content platform Brunch. Beginning on the 18th of last month with posts shared with employees during his time as CEO of Kakao Games, he recently shared his thoughts on Kakao’s salary negotiations.
In a post titled ‘Performance and Compensation,’ CEO Namgung wrote, “This is a post written as a senior colleague in the workplace, not as the CEO,” adding, “Company evaluations are not always as fair as individual expectations. However, we strive to be fair.”
He continued, “Performance evaluations are largely influenced by luck, so considering a job change just because of a low performance evaluation is an excessive thought,” and “Competency evaluations reflect the company’s view of one’s skills, so if you receive low evaluations for several years, it might be worth considering a job change.” This post was also shared on the company’s internal bulletin board by CEO Namgung.
Meanwhile, the Kakao under Namgung Hoon, which has officially set sail, has identified ‘Beyond Mobile, Beyond Korea’ as the core keywords for the next decade. The plan is to combine Kakao’s strengths in text and metaverse elements and expand business centered on metaverse, AI, and more.
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