Kakao Suspends Review of Kakao Mobility Sale

Officials from the National Substitute Driving Labor Union are holding a rally on the 25th in front of Gwanghwamun D Tower in Jongno-gu, Seoul, opposing the sale of Kakao Mobility to MBK and urging Kakao to fulfill its social responsibilities. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] Kakao has withdrawn its consideration of selling Kakao Mobility.

Kakao Community Alignment Center (CAC) announced on the 18th that it will halt the review of changes to the shareholder structure of Kakao Mobility. It plans to respect the will for sustainable growth with society derived by the labor and management of Kakao Mobility and support the concretization and execution of this will.

Kakao CAC had been communicating with the labor and management of Kakao Mobility while reviewing plans to change the shareholder composition of Kakao Mobility. Accordingly, in early August, the labor and management of Kakao Mobility formed the "Council for Sustainable Growth of Mobility and Society" (hereinafter referred to as the Sustainable Growth Council) and conveyed to the Kakao Community Center their commitment to practicing social responsibility within the Kakao community and creating growth and innovation.

Based on four agendas of "Innovation and Growth, Partnership and Sharing," the goal is to fulfill social responsibility while achieving continuous growth and innovation. The plan includes creating innovations to solve mobility issues faced by the public, growing together with mobility partners and mobility-vulnerable groups for continuous innovation, and sharing technology and data.

Kakao CAC has decided to respect the direction derived by the Kakao Mobility council and to stop reviewing changes to the shareholder structure that had been under consideration. Going forward, Kakao CAC and Kakao Mobility will work together to fulfill social responsibility and create growth and innovation to resolve the public’s mobility issues.

Previously, Kakao had announced that it was considering selling part of its stake in its subsidiary Kakao Mobility to MBK Partners, changing from the largest shareholder to the second-largest shareholder, which led to ongoing conflicts between labor and management.

Hong Euntaek, Co-CEO of Kakao, stated, “Kakao Mobility and the Kakao Community Center will strive to solve transportation problems based on sustainable innovation that society can empathize with,” and added, “We will actively support and cheer for Kakao Mobility to continue leading the growth of the Korean mobility ecosystem.”