Kakao

Kakao Corporation
Native name
주식회사 카카오
RR: Jusikhoesa Kakao
MR: Chushikhoesa K'ak'ao
Company typePublic
KRX: 035720
IndustryInternet
Founded2010 (2010) (original company; as Kakao Inc.)
1 October 2014 (2014-10-01) (current company)
FounderBrian Kim
HeadquartersJeju City, South Korea
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Brian Kim (founder)
Stephan Kim (chairman, head of corporate alignment center)[a][1]
Eun-taek Hong (CEO)[2]
Products
RevenueIncrease KRW 4.16 trillion (2020)[3]
Increase KRW₩ 167.1 billion (2020)
Owners
Number of employees
10,644 (2020)
SubsidiariesKakao Entertainment
Kakao Games
Kakao Friends
Kakao Mobility
Lycos, Inc.
Websitekakaocorp.com
Kakao
Hangul
카카오
Revised RomanizationKakao
McCune–ReischauerK'ak'ao

Kakao Corporation (Korean: 카카오) is a South Korean Internet conglomerate headquartered in Jeju City. It was formed through the merger of Daum Communications and the original Kakao Inc in 2010. The company was renamed Daum Kakao in 2014.[5] In 2015 it was rebranded once more, reverting simply to Kakao.[6]

In May 2015, the company acquired Path, an American social media company that had become successful in Indonesia.[7] In January 2016, Kakao acquired a 76.4% stake in LOEN Entertainment, a large South Korean entertainment company, for $1.5 billion.[8] It was later rebranded as Kakao M. The company has gained further prominence from KakaoTalk, a free mobile instant messaging application for smartphones with text and call features. By May 2017, the app had 220 million registered users and 47 million active monthly users.[9]

As of March 2022, the company is competing with Naver Corporation for dominance in the Japanese web comic and web novel market.[10]


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  1. ^ Yoo, So-yeon (4 April 2022). "Kakao to build large-scale K-pop performance venue in northern Seoul". Korea JoongAng Daily. Archived from the original on 25 December 2022. Retrieved 12 April 2022.
  2. ^ Wang, Catherine (19 October 2022). "Korean Internet Giant Kakao's Co-CEO Resigns Amid Heat From Data Center Fire". Forbes. Archived from the original on 11 November 2022. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
  3. ^ "Earning Release 2021". ir.expediagroup.com. 13 February 2020. Archived from the original on 25 December 2022. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
  4. ^ a b c "KAKAO CORP. (A035720)". MarketScreener. Archived from the original on 9 March 2023. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
  5. ^ "kakao > About > History". Kakao Corp. Kakao. Archived from the original on 1 October 2015. Retrieved 9 October 2015.
  6. ^ "Daum Kakao Sets Sail Under New Name". The Chosun Ilbo. Seoul. 24 September 2015. Archived from the original on 1 October 2019. Retrieved 9 October 2015.
  7. ^ "Path Sells Its Social Networking App To Daum Kakao". TechCrunch. 29 May 2015. Archived from the original on 25 December 2022. Retrieved 28 June 2015. Path became very popular in some Asian markets – most notably Indonesia, where most of its current active users are today.
  8. ^ "Kakao acquires Loen". The Korea Times. 11 January 2016. Archived from the original on 30 September 2019. Retrieved 18 September 2017.
  9. ^ "Kakaotalk: number of monthly active users 2017 - Statistic". Statista. Archived from the original on 25 December 2022. Retrieved 5 March 2018.
  10. ^ "Naver, Kakao competing for no 1 position in Japanese web comic market". ThePrint. 31 March 2022. Archived from the original on 25 April 2022. Retrieved 26 April 2022.

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