[Exclusive] "We did it even before Corona"... Danggeun to End Remote Work

Currently Two Days of Remote Work per Week
To Be Reduced to Once a Week from May, Then Gradually Abolished
"Expecting a More Communicative Organizational Culture"

Danggeun will gradually abolish remote work and mandate office attendance.

According to industry sources on the 20th, Danggeun, which operates Korea's leading local community platform, recently announced this policy at a weekly meeting attended by all employees. Danggeun stated, "Considering social circumstances such as COVID-19 and the company's growth, we have been reflecting on the most appropriate work style and adapting accordingly. We have decided to gradually expand office attendance, judging that the advantages of face-to-face work?active and close communication and faster decision-making?are more necessary at this time."

Currently, Danggeun implements remote work twice a week. Every Monday and Thursday, all employees come to the office, and one day is designated as a mandatory attendance day per team. On the remaining two days, employees can choose between working remotely or coming to the office. Even before COVID-19, Danggeun had a once-a-week remote work system. After switching to a full remote work system during the pandemic, it has maintained a twice-a-week remote work system since 2023.

Danggeun appears to have determined that it is time to focus on organizational expansion as users and revenue have surged recently. According to IGAWorks Mobile Index, the monthly active users (MAU) of the Danggeun application increased from 4 million in 2019 to about 20 million last year. The cumulative number of registered users reaches 42 million. Last year's revenue is also estimated to have exceeded 127.6 billion KRW in 2023.

After the pandemic, many companies partially or fully withdrew from remote work and shifted to office attendance, but startups have maintained relatively flexible work styles. Companies such as Yanolja Company, which operates the travel and accommodation platform 'Yanolja,' and Woowa Brothers, operator of the food delivery app 'Baedal Minjok,' continue to operate the remote work system introduced early in the COVID-19 pandemic. Initially, remote work was preferred to secure talent and foster an autonomous culture, but as companies grow and competition intensifies, voices calling for the necessity of face-to-face work are increasing.

Danggeun plans to gradually transition work styles considering changes in employees' work environments. The current system will be maintained until April, and from May, remote work will be reduced to once a week. Subsequently, the company intends to establish a full five-day office attendance system. A company representative explained, "We expect that this policy change will help active communication among members, contributing to the development of organizational culture and strengthening service competitiveness."