Kim Jeong-ho Dismissed from Kakao, Brian Impact Chairman to Step Down

Last September, at the request of Kim Beom-su, the founder of Kakao, Kim Jeong-ho, former Chief of Management Support at Kakao CA Council who was in charge of Kakao's reform efforts, decided to leave the company. Additionally, he plans to step down from his positions as chairman and registered director of the Brian Impact Foundation, which was established by founder Kim.

According to the IT industry on the 18th, Kakao's Standing Ethics Committee announced through an internal notice on the 15th that it had decided to dismiss former Chief Kim. The Ethics Committee cited reasons for the disciplinary action including defamation based on false information, unauthorized leakage of unverified internal company information, and violations of media response guidelines.

Former Chief Kim sparked controversy last November when it was alleged that he used abusive language during an internal meeting. In response, he revealed internal corruption at Kakao on his social media (SNS), stating that the incident arose while pointing out work practices. He raised suspicions of corruption related to three construction projects promoted by the Asset Development Office: Jeju ESG Center, Seoul Arena, and Ansan IDC.

However, after audits conducted by two law firms, much of the 'internal corruption at Kakao' claimed by former Chief Kim was found to be factually incorrect. The Ethics Committee stated, "As a result of the audit, the three construction projects selected contractors according to internal approval processes, and no collusion with contractors was confirmed during the contractor change process. Overall, the projects proceeded according to the company's internal procedures."

It was confirmed that a significant portion of the statements made by former Chief Kim during the investigation were either untrue or lacked evidence to be considered factual. Furthermore, the Ethics Committee added, "After reviewing the investigation results and the case, we decided to dismiss former Chief Kim for reasons including workplace harassment and violations of SNS activity guidelines."

It is reported that former Chief Kim accepted the Ethics Committee's decision and chose not to request a retrial of the disciplinary action. Additionally, he expressed his intention to resign from his roles as chairman and registered director of the Brian Impact Foundation.

Founder Kim resigned from his director position at Brian Impact last November to focus on company reform activities. After founding Brian Impact in June 2021, he served as chairman until May 2022, when he stepped down and handed the position over to former Chief Kim.