'Corona' Information Viewed 2.3 Billion Times via Kakao... Publication of 'Kakao Corona White Paper, Second Story'

[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] It has been revealed that during the COVID-19 period, the public accessed COVID-19 related information approximately 2.3 billion times through Kakao platforms.

On the 24th, Kakao announced the publication of ‘Kakao COVID-19 White Paper, Second Story: Our and Kakao’s Efforts to Overcome COVID-19,’ which datafies usage records of major services such as KakaoTalk during the COVID-19 period.

This is the second white paper following the first ‘Kakao COVID-19 White Paper,’ published in September 2020, which examined the impact and changes Kakao services had on daily life around the time of the outbreak and continuous spread of COVID-19.

This white paper covers Kakao’s services and support activities aimed at overcoming the pandemic that has lasted over two years. It is organized into seven areas: ▲providing COVID-19 related information ▲collaborative services with the government ▲support efforts for small business owners ▲COVID-19 relief fundraising ▲support for safe mobility ▲activation of non-face-to-face communication ▲support for Kakao Crew. Kakao’s affiliates such as Kakao Games, Kakao Mobility, Kakao Bank, Kakao Pay, and Ground X also participated.

During the COVID-19 period, the public searched for COVID-19 related information 2,297,309,797 times on Kakao platforms. Public services related to COVID-19 such as remote classes, QR check-ins, and vaccine reservations were connected 4,318,376,636 times (usage count/message sent count from the service launch to present) through Kakao platforms.

Various supports were also provided for small business owners struggling due to COVID-19. A total of 22.34 billion KRW was spent on market support, service fee refunds, interest and rate support, among others. Additionally, through Kakao Together Value (Kakao Gachigachi), fundraising for vulnerable groups affected by COVID-19 raised a total of 5,881,054,062 KRW (combined donations from Kakao affiliates and users) with active public participation.

The Kakao COVID-19 White Paper is available for free download on Kakao Brunch, and a TTS (text-to-speech) service will also be provided to listen to the content via smart devices such as Kakao Mini and Kakao Mini Hexa.

Hong Euntaek, Head of Kakao ESG, said, “This second white paper aims to reflect the various efforts of Kakao and our society to overcome COVID-19 through Kakao’s data,” adding, “As the pandemic has been overcome through everyone’s efforts over a long period, we hope the pace of daily life recovery will accelerate significantly.”