Kakao Corp., the operator of Korea’s leading mobile messenger Kakao Talk, said Sunday that it foresees May 2015 possibly going public in go public ― the first time the company has publicly revealed its plans.

Kakao intends to be listed in the domestic market and is putting off the initial public offering until next year in order to receive a better value assessment.

Currently, Kakao’s total market value is gauged between 1.5 trillion won ($1.4 billion) and 5 trillion won.

The company’s stocks are being traded near the 90,000 won range at Over-The-Counter markets. If it were to be listed at this price, its value would be roughly 2.35 trillion won.

Kakao, however, anticipates new developments from its businesses abroad and has decided it wants to collect accurate market evaluations instead of rushing the process along, according to a high-rank company official.

In 2012 and 2013, the company raised 46 billion and 230 billion won in sales, respectively. It hopes to reach 500 billion won this year.

Considering the company’s growth potential overseas, if Kakao meets its annual target sales, it may exceed a market value of 5 trillion won.

(jhk@heraldcorp.com)