Kakao controversies
Controversies tied to this brand in public sources. A listing is not a finding of fault.
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2023
Alleged stock manipulation during the SM Entertainment acquisition contest
Kakao's contested acquisition of a stake in SM Entertainment led South Korean financial authorities to investigate allegations of stock-price manipulation. The investigation followed a corporate-control battle involving HYBE and became a major governance and regulatory issue for Kakao.
2021
Kakao faces criticism over business expansion and treatment of small businesses
Public backlash
Kakao faced criticism over its expansion into business areas associated with smaller firms and alleged fee and market practices. Civic organizations led by the People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy held a debate at the National Assembly on Tuesday, criticizing Kakao's expansion and calling for measures to protect small businesses and consumers. The source presents these concerns as criticism and allegations, not as a formal determination.
Source excerpt
On Tuesday, civic organizations led by the People's Solidary for Participatory Democracy held a debate at the National Assembly, slamming Kakao's excessive business expansion and calling for measures to protect small businesses and consumers.
Kakao has been adopting the business tactics of providing fee-free services at first and then collecting increasingly high fees once it monopolizes the market.
2020
South Korea FTC fines Naver over real estate content contracts
Fine or penalty
South Korea's Fair Trade Commission fined Naver 1 billion won, stating that its contracts with real estate information providers unfairly prevented those providers from supplying content to rival Kakao. Naver rejected the ruling and said it would pursue legal measures. The case concerns the terms governing real estate content arrangements between Naver and the information providers, and the commission's finding that those terms disadvantaged Kakao as a competitor.
South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission fined Naver 1 billion won, saying its contracts with real estate information providers unfairly prevented them from providing content to rival Kakao. Naver rejected the ruling and said it would seek legal measures.
Company response
Denial — Naver
Naver refused to accept the FTC ruling, claiming it did so to protect its rights by preventing Kakao from abusing Naver's intellectual property.
Source excerpt
Due to the series of unfair actions, the FTC said Kakao was excluded from the online real estate service market.
Naver refused to accept the FTC ruling, claiming it did so to protect its rights by preventing Kakao from abusing Naver's intellectual property.
The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) imposed a 1 billion won ($840,700) fine on Naver for placing an article excluding other online platforms in its contracts with real estate information providers.