Controversy Over Profanity and Cartel Exposures... Kim Beom-su's Reform Plan Hits Snags

'Relief Pitcher' Director Kim Jeong-ho, Internal Exposure Amid Swearing Controversy
"Kakao's Endless Problems, The More I See, The Angrier I Get"
Kim Beom-su Steps Up... Kakao Loses Direction Amid Internal Strife

Brian Kim Jeong-ho, chairman of Brian Impact, who stepped in as a savior to reform Kakao's management, exposed the company's management realities. His intention was to clarify the recent controversy over his use of profanity. In the process, the raw experiences he faced while trying to resolve Kakao's issues were revealed. He disclosed in detail the internal resistance he encountered. Amid various controversies and the launch of an emergency management system, internal strife has erupted, causing setbacks in the reform efforts.

On the afternoon of the 28th, Chairman Kim posted on his Facebook about the background of the profanity controversy and the audit situation at Kakao. Since September, Kim has been in charge of personnel and audits for the Kakao community as the head of management support for the CA Council, the group's control tower. He is also a member of the recently established external oversight body, the 'Compliance and Trust Committee,' and is the only internal Kakao member on the committee.

Chairman Kim opened by saying, "I took on the audit four months ago at the request of founder Kim Beom-su, anticipating tremendous resistance from existing vested interests (especially various cartels)." He then listed issues such as compensation biased toward executives or their close associates, opaque work processes, the unchecked dominance of certain departments without competition, problems with golf club memberships, corporate cards, and external cooperation expenses, reports of corruption in large construction projects, the undervalued sale of equipment, and the unclear utilization of the headquarters site in Jeju Island.

He also revealed internal resistance to the reform efforts he was pushing. Chairman Kim said, "There were cases where the annual salary of a head of a management department was 2.5 times that of a head of a development department, and some held golf club memberships worth over 2 billion KRW," adding, "When asked to report on the community's golf membership status, they kept delaying and only reported after nearly a month."

He then mentioned the Jeju headquarters site issue, which sparked the profanity controversy. According to Chairman Kim, Kakao neglected part of the Jeju headquarters site and even received a notice to reclaim the land. The plan was to develop it into a workation center, but due to low internal interest, the plan was changed to a regional win-win digital content production center. Chairman Kim proposed involving the internal construction team (Kakao Space employees) in the project, but an executive claimed (without approval or consensus) that "a contractor had already been decided." He said, "The executive in charge of a construction project worth 70 to 80 billion KRW made such a claim, and seeing other executives remain silent made my anger explode." During this process, Chairman Kim explained that he uttered profanity, saying, "Where else is there such a damn shitty culture?" He stated that it was a single mistake made while pointing out problems with work practices and that he apologized to the executives at the time. He added, "I will take full responsibility for this," but expressed frustration, saying, "If this is judged as workplace harassment, then corrective orders cannot be issued to wrongdoers, nor can personnel actions be taken."

The profanity incident spread within Kakao and among working communities, sparking controversy. Criticism arose that the person brought in to reform the organization and a close aide of Kakao founder and management reform chairman Kim Beom-su actually caused internal conflict. There were also complaints that exercising authority backed by Chairman Kim's trust was no different from the previously criticized 'revolving door personnel' problem.

Although Chairman Kim clarified the related controversy, the situation seems to be escalating. This is because internal conflicts and ongoing audits have been exposed just over a month after entering the emergency management system. Kakao is currently conducting internal audits following reports of corruption in the selection process of contractors for the data center (IDC) and Seoul Arena construction projects.

Chairman Kim's future position is also a matter of interest. He concluded his post by saying, "Now the judgment is up to those who read this post." It is interpreted that he is prepared to relinquish positions such as head of management support by making these revelations. Even if Chairman Kim remains in his position, concerns are rising that the internal strife that has already surfaced may cause the momentum for change to be lost. Although Chairman Kim is demanding strong management reform at the forefront, Kakao is facing another crisis. Regarding this, Kakao stated, "It is difficult to comment on personal social network service (SNS) posts," and did not issue an official statement.