SMOA: "Brand Messages Involve Unauthorized Use of Personal Information"
Kakao: "Higher Trust and Security Than Standard SMS"
Civic Group: "Difficult to Distinguish Brand Messages from AlimTalk"
Tensions are rising between Kakao and text message delivery agencies over the brand message service Kakao launched in May. As Kakao enters the existing advertising text message service market with KakaoTalk as its main tool, a dispute over business interests is emerging.
According to industry sources on August 25, the Special Type Value-Added Communications Messaging Operators Association (SMOA) filed a complaint against Kakao with the Personal Information Protection Commission on August 19. The association claims that Kakao is misusing users' personal information without consent.
SMOA argued that Kakao sends advertisements to users' regular chat windows without their consent by matching phone numbers received from advertisers with KakaoTalk account phone numbers, all without user approval.
The brand message is a channel-based advertising service that Kakao began offering in May. It allows companies to send messages to users who have agreed in advance to receive advertising messages. If a consumer previously consented to receive such messages, they can receive them even without adding the channel, and users can refuse to receive advertisements with just one click. Until this service, Kakao had only provided AlimTalk, which delivers non-advertising information.
An industry insider in the messaging sector claimed, "Kakao's brand message service uses users' personal information without authorization, and sending messages without friend request consent is problematic."
Kakao countered by releasing research results showing that the credibility of brand messages is higher than that of SMS. Namhyun Eom, a professor in the Department of Advertising and Public Relations at Hongik University, and Seungcheol Yoo, a professor in the Department of Communication and Media at Ewha Womans University, analyzed consumer trust in both Kakao brand messages and SMS advertisements. In a survey of 400 users, the credibility score for brand messages was 4.46, higher than the 3.72 for SMS.
Kakao maintains that it sends brand messages only with recipient consent. According to the Kakao brand message introduction materials, advertising messages are sent to KakaoTalk channel friends and users who have agreed to receive advertising information from client companies (KakaoTalk consent users).
The industry views the conflict between Kakao and text message delivery agencies as a dispute over business interests. Previously, businesses wishing to send advertisements primarily used SMS, but the introduction of KakaoTalk brand messages has created a new competitor, sparking what is being called a "turf war." According to IGAWorks Mobile Index, the average monthly active users (MAU) of the KakaoTalk mobile application in the first half of this year was 46.11 million, meaning virtually every smartphone user in the country is using it.
Consumer groups have also joined the criticism of Kakao, releasing survey results indicating that brand messaging increases consumer confusion. The Seoul Consumer Citizens' Union (Seoul Soshimo) conducted an online survey of 385 people from August 8 to 12, and 70% of respondents said they could not distinguish between AlimTalk and brand messages. Seoul Soshimo stated, "Kakao and the relevant companies should suspend advertising message delivery until the government releases its findings, and seek measures to address consumer inconvenience."
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