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Kakao CEO cites AI as 'creative multiplier' for company in New Year's message

Published: 02 Jan. 2026, 15:49

Kakao CEO Chung Shin-a [KAKAO]

Kakao CEO Chung Shin-a emphasized in her New Year’s message on Friday that AI should serve as a “creative multiplier” — amplifying individual capabilities and ideas to push challenges beyond simple addition.

“Last year was a time of consolidation, during which we bolstered our fundamentals and streamlined systems to focus the group’s capabilities at its core,” Chung said in the message. “Now it’s time to shift gears and channel that condensed energy into growth.”

She identified two pillars to drive Kakao’s growth this year: human-centric AI and a global fandom operating system.

On the first pillar, Chung said AI will evolve into agentic AI, which understands a user’s intent and context to anticipate and assist with their next actions. The idea is to leverage the strengths of KakaoTalk, a daily messenger app used by 50 million people.

To enhance privacy, Kakao plans to further develop on-device AI — a technology that runs AI directly on user devices without transmitting personal data externally.

Kakao also aims to ensure both scalability and efficiency by expanding infrastructure — which requires large-scale investment — through external partnerships.

Kakao's headquarters in Jeju City is seen on Jan. 10, 2022. [YONHAP]

The second pillar, the global fandom OS, targets international markets. By combining the group’s full-stack assets — including intellectual property, platforms and interfaces — the goal is to build a global ecosystem where fans can communicate and create value.

To support and interconnect these two pillars, Kakao named Web3 as a core infrastructure. Web3 will provide the underlying technology to securely and transparently facilitate AI agent services such as booking and payments, along with other user activities.

Chung encouraged Kakao employees to continue taking bold steps.

“Let’s not rely on the formulas of past success,” she said. “Instead, let’s treat AI as a creative multiplier to pursue challenges where one plus one goes beyond two.”

“The growth we pursue is not only about financial results — it is also a demonstration of our pride and social responsibility as a Korean IT company,” said Chung.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY SEO JI-WON [[email protected]]