April 4th, Kakao 6th Emergency Management Meeting
SNS Internal Whistleblower Chief Kim Requests 'Self-Discipline'
Union: "No Workplace Lacks Labor-Management Dialogue Like This"
Kakao, which has embarked on management reform, has launched an internal crackdown. Last week, Kim Jeong-ho, Kakao's Chief of Management Support, who exposed internal management issues, requested self-discipline. This was because his revelations sparked controversies both inside and outside the company, escalating into a battle over the truth. Kim plans to stop external communication and focus on organizational reform.
On the morning of the 4th, Kim attended the 6th Emergency Management Meeting of the community held at Kakao Pangyo Ajit and responded to reporters' questions about “Chairman Kim Beom-su’s reaction to last week’s revelations” by saying, “I can no longer communicate externally.”
Last week, he revealed on his social networking service (SNS) that an executive intended to change the construction company for a vacant site in Jeju Island without approval or agreement. In addition, he disclosed internal issues such as corporate golf memberships, irregularities in the Internet Data Center (IDC), and performance venues, causing an uproar at Kakao. Kim is a figure recruited with great effort by Kim Beom-su, founder of Kakao and head of the Future Initiative Center, in September to reform Kakao, and he is in charge of internal audits.
As the controversy grew, Hong Eun-taek, CEO of Kakao, announced on the 30th of last month through an internal notice, “We have formed an investigation team centered on the Community Compliance Management Office and a law firm to audit the construction processes of the Ansan Data Center, Seoul Arena, Jeju ESG Center, and other allegations raised by Kim. We ask for your patience until the investigation results come out and request that no assumptions be made about the audit or investigation results in the meantime.”
This was aimed at Kim’s SNS expos?. When CEO Hong took internal control measures, Kim requested self-discipline from the company. In a post addressed to all employees on the internal network the previous night, he stated, “I have voluntarily requested the Ethics Committee to decide on disciplinary action against me,” and described it as a violation of the ‘100 to 0 principle.’ The ‘100 to 0’ principle means “sharing all information internally (100%) and maintaining absolute confidentiality externally (0%).”
Kim emphasized, “I made this decision myself, and it will proceed according to official procedures, and I will abide by the results,” adding, “However, I will not shrink back or be discouraged but will continue to push for reform, root out problems, and renew the company.”
Meanwhile, the Kakao Labor Union began a protest demanding personnel reform and employee participation in management reform activities on the same day. Last week, the Kakao union had demanded investigations into management corruption and verbal abuse and participation in management reform through internal statements and press releases.
Seo Seung-wook, head of the Kakao union branch, said at a press conference that “there has been no response from the company regarding the requested issues,” and “starting today, we plan to conduct picketing (sign protests) every Monday during the Emergency Management Meetings to ensure these matters are discussed.”
They held the protest from 5:30 a.m. ahead of the 6th Emergency Management Meeting chaired by founder Kim Beom-su but were unable to meet with Kim or any other executives.
Seo criticized, “In five years of union activities, I have never met Chairman Kim Beom-su (Reform Committee Chairman),” and added, “Is there any other place where labor and management do not engage in dialogue like this?”
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