CEO says integration of mobile and social networking inevitable requirements for growth


Flexibility and speed are key to innovation in the mobile technology market.

These management traits are essential to keep Kakao creative and responsive to the unpredictable and rapidly changing mobile market, Lee Jae-beom, CEO of the mobile communication venture tech firm, told The Korea Herald.

The company’s Kakao Talk is one example that became a worldwide hit with over 50 million users through fast decision-making and being market-responsive.

Kakao, like many other venture firms, did not begin with instant-hit software or hardware.

“We had a lot of trials and errors between 2007 and 2009,” said Lee, before it came up with Kakao Talk.

Established in 2006, it mainly focused on developing PC-based Web service platforms that ended in complete failure.

With the introduction of smartphones in Korea, Kakao immediately dropped its PC and Web businesses and projects, and put all its energy into mobile, which would be its future growth driver.

Thus, Kakao Talk was born, and branded Kakao as a “market mover” or “game changer” in Korea, stirring up attention whenever it introduces a new service, such as Voice Talk.

With platforms developed for text-messaging, advertising, gaming and social commerce, Kakao seeks to launch a new platform for content toward the end of this year.

Content includes emoticons and other related features, which Lee said he could not further elaborate on, as the company is currently developing the platform at the moment.

But he said that this, like Kakao’s gaming platform, will mainly be an “opportunistic platform” for third-party developers such as content producers and mobile venture start-ups.

“Our main strategy in platform creations is help exposing our strategic partners, content developers and venture tech firms,” Lee said, noting the success of the “Anipang” mobile game developed by its partner Sundaytoz and released via Kakao’s gaming platform.

Anipang and “Viking Island” by WeMade, an online gamer with whom Kakao has formed a partnership, have become instant hits. They rank among the top on Google Play, allaying doubts that Kakao can succeed with WeMade in Korea’s mobile gaming space. The two are latecomers compared with other renowned mobile gamers such as Com2us, Gamevil and Nexon.

The content platform can also be connected to Kakao Talk or Kakao Story, the company’s mobile social networking platform that has surpassed Facebook in terms of daily users.

This can be similar to how the company linked Kakao Talk with Kakao’s gaming platform in an effort to further expose the games, while offsetting external skepticism whether it has a solid business model that can help make it profitable.

The company also seeks to connect games to its social networking platform, which has over 25 million users, given that there is a limit to exposing and introducing games only through Google Play or Apple App Store.

These are part of its long-term strategy to become a total communication platform company by further integrating mobile and social networking technologies, Lee said.

“Mobile and social networking convergence will be a very important and integral part of this company’s growth,” he said.

As it seeks to develop a variety of platforms going forward, Kakao will continue to improve key functions and features of such platforms through user feedback.

Kakao Talk included functions such as font controls after a user asked whether the company could include them as letters are too small to see on smartphone displays.

As any venture tech firms which either consider stock floatation or mergers and acquisitions for growth, Kakao could seek an option of launching an initial public offering over M&A.

However, the company has no immediate plans at the moment given that Kakao already has high brand recognition thanks to its users, and has secured sufficient capital over the last three investor relations roadshows.

The company’s shareholders include WeMade, Tencent, CyberAgent and Maverick Capital. Kakao did not disclose its financial figures.

The 34-year-old Lee has always been an entrepreneur, starting his own company after he graduated from Seoul National University with a degree in industrial engineering.

Lee joined Kakao in 2007 after Kim Beom-soo, the founder, called and asked him to come. Kim also founded Hangame, an online gamer, and NHN, the operator of Korea’s largest search engine Naver.

Before then, Lee said he never met Kim whom Lee only knew as his “dae sunbae,” or esteemed senior, from Seoul National University’s industrial engineering department, the CEO said.

Kim currently chairs the company’s board, while seeking other venture tech start-up opportunities. Lee co-heads Kakao with CEO Lee Seok-woo, who was an in-house lawyer for the venture tech firm.

By Park Hyong-ki (hkp@heraldcorp.com)