Kakao's labor union strongly questioned the executive accountability structure over the resignation of Chief Product Officer Hong Min-taek, who led the KakaoTalk overhaul. The union said that as executives who drove key decisions repeatedly leave the company after controversies, the burden of failure is being left with employees.
The Kakao chapter of the National Chemical Fiber Food Industry Labor Union said in a statement on the 2nd that the "KakaoTalk Big Bang project" pursued during Hong's tenure as CPO left a considerable burden on the internal organization. The union noted that during this process, excessive workload and overtime, damage to organizational culture, and disputes over fairness in performance compensation surfaced.
The union criticized a recurring pattern in which the company brings in an executive who has earned recognition externally, pushes through a major project in a short period, and then fails to clearly sort out responsibility when problems arise. In particular, it said cases are repeating in which an executive steps down after one to two years while leaving behind "destruction of organizational culture, reckless business pushes, disputes over unfair compensation, and a worsening work environment."
The controversy erupted as user backlash and internal fatigue grew simultaneously following the KakaoTalk overhaul. Kakao now faces the task of readjusting KakaoTalk's service direction and revenue model. Observers say that to keep its status as the national messenger from wavering, the company must restore employees' trust alongside improving user experience.
The union said, "We will fight to the end to build a community where workers are respected and can place their trust, in the face of repeated responsibility evasion and top-down, uncommunicative management."