Kakao Games Eliminates Use of English Names Within Company... First Among Affiliates

Expectations to Resolve Confusion Caused by Dual Titles
"Reorganizing the Overly Large Organization Relative to Its Scale"

Kakao Games has decided to discontinue the use of English names within the company to establish a horizontal culture. This is the first case among Kakao affiliates.

According to the ICT industry on the 21st, Han Sang-woo, the new CEO of Kakao Games, announced at a town hall meeting on the 17th, "We will introduce a system this month where employees use their real Korean names followed by 'nim' instead of English names."

Kakao has long communicated using English names such as 'Brian' (founder Kim Beom-su), 'Sina' (CEO Jung Shin-ah of Kakao), and 'Michael' (CEO Han) to establish a horizontal culture.

However, the dual naming system?using English names internally and Korean names externally?caused confusion among employees of some affiliates and related companies like Kakao Games, which frequently communicate with external developers.

[Image source=Provided by Kakao Games]

Previously, Kim Beom-su, founder of Kakao and chairman of the CA Council's Management Innovation Committee, raised the need to reconsider Kakao's unique culture of using English names from the ground up.

At the employee meeting 'Brian Talk' on December 11 last year, Chairman Kim said regarding Kakao's corporate culture, "We need to create our own culture suitable for the present and future from the beginning," and added, "It is necessary to review from scratch even things we have taken for granted, such as the use of English names, information sharing, and horizontal culture." Attention is now focused on whether Kakao Games' decision will influence other affiliates.

Meanwhile, CEO Han also pointed out that there are too many teams relative to the size of Kakao Games and emphasized that he would eliminate the team leader position so that team members can communicate directly with department heads. He also announced the introduction of a 'Growth Stage' system that allows team members to receive performance-based rewards without promotion by simplifying job ranks.

The Growth Stage divides the reward system for team members into 8 to 9 growth stages, with differentiated reward scales according to each member's stage changes. While advancing stages may result in a certain salary increase, this system requires clear criteria based on stages.

Kakao Games has been criticized for having an extensive organization, with about 110 team leaders or higher among approximately 480 employees. CEO Han's remarks are interpreted as an intention to transform the organization into a project-based structure that can respond flexibly and swiftly to various projects.