The CA Council, the control tower of Kakao, is promoting the first-ever recruitment of new employees at the group company level since its founding. Industry insiders note that this move comes as the CA Council, which was launched last year, enhances supervision over its subsidiaries through employee recruitment, marking the beginning of its full-scale operation.
According to the industry on the 4th, Kakao's first public recruitment of new employees at the group company level, announced on the 3rd, was decided under the leadership of the CA Council. Previously, each subsidiary hired its employees independently, but the CA Council has established recruitment plans for new employees at major subsidiaries. Notably, Chung Shina, instead of being referred to as the CEO of Kakao, announced the new recruitment plan with the title of chair of the CA Council.
Since its establishment in January last year, the CA Council has faced criticism for failing to assert its presence in controlling subsidiaries and leading decision-making across the group. Concerns grew when even founder Kim Beom-soo stepped down from the co-chair position of the CA Council due to health reasons in March this year. However, as Kakao recently faced a crisis, such as falling out of the government-supported 'national representative artificial intelligence (AI)' project, there are increasing discussions on the role of the CA Council in overseeing the entire group. An industry official noted, "The sense of crisis that there is no future for corporations without AI innovation is spreading both within and outside Kakao, bringing the role of the CA Council to the forefront," adding, "In the future, it will officially establish and direct the company's strategy. The commencement of the group company's recruitment is the first signal of this."
There are analyses suggesting that Kakao's large-scale recruitment of new employees aims to increase 'AI native' talents who create new value using AI technology. Kakao explained that the purpose of this group recruitment is to secure talents suitable for the AI era. On the 3rd, Chung Shina, chair of the Kakao CA Council, stated, "Today's youth are the first generation to encounter and utilize various AI technologies while growing together," and expressed hope for applications from young talents who can find creative answers with unique questions.
According to the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) report released by Kakao, the number of new hires under the age of 30 was 208 last year, a 71% decrease compared to 716 in 2021. As the recruitment of employees in their 20s has declined over the past few years, the average age of all Kakao employees has also increased. Last year, the proportion of employees under 30 among Kakao's workforce was 20%, down 17 percentage points from 37% in 2022.
Kakao, celebrating its 15th anniversary, is positioning this year as the starting point for the popularization of AI. While the CA Council's previous role was to restructure non-core subsidiaries to concentrate on AI business, it is expected that future roles will shift toward investment in AI business and long-term planning. According to the industry, the number of Kakao's subsidiaries is currently 102, down 30% from 147 in 2023.
On the 23rd of this month, Kakao will hold its annual developer conference 'if Kakao', where it will unveil the AI agent developed in collaboration with OpenAI and discuss the direction of future KakaoTalk renovations using AI. However, there are also concerns that even if the CA Council operates in full force, its role may be limited. Ryu Jong-ki, a concurrent professor at Sogang University's Knowledge Convergence Media College, remarked, "The role of the CA Council will be strengthened in the future, but the absence of the founder will serve as a governance limitation," adding, "In a single chair system with Chung Shina, it will be difficult for the CA Council to make swift decisions on investments or plans for the AI business."