Hong Min-taek, Kakao chief product officer (CPO), who oversaw this KakaoTalk update, was found to have posted an internal notice to Kakao employees explaining the background of the update. Kakao recently carried out a large-scale update, including introducing a grid-style feed in the Friends tab, but it is receiving harsh criticism that it failed to reflect user demands.
According to the information technology (IT) industry on the 30th, Hong, the CPO, posted an internal notice to Kakao employees on the 29th, when it was announced that the friends list would be restored on the first screen of KakaoTalk. According to the industry, the notice contained explanations of the background and progress of this KakaoTalk update.
Hong, the CPO, explained that the background and direction of this large-scale effort were social expansion and strengthening the messenger service. In response to continued user criticism after the update that KakaoTalk had lost its essence as a messenger, Hong was said to have clarified, "It is not about reducing messenger functions." He also noted that indicators such as app downloads and traffic are being maintained.
Hong, the CPO, posted, "Regardless of the numbers, minimizing user inconvenience is the priority, and we will do our best to minimize inconvenience."
Earlier, after this update, a post appeared on an office worker community calling on Hong, the CPO, to take responsibility for the controversy over the Friends tab. In a post uploaded by an ID verified as a Kakao employee, it was claimed that Hong pushed ahead with the update despite opposition from working-level staff such as developers. Hong is currently in charge at Kakao of overseeing the development and improvement of services such as KakaoTalk and Kakao Map.
Regarding this, Kakao said, "Hong, the CPO, wrote the post to apologize to the crew for not communicating quickly about the KakaoTalk overhaul and to explain the current situation," adding, "We will work responsibly to minimize user inconvenience."