Kakao to Launch Paid Membership Service

[Financial News] Kakao plans to launch a paid membership service in October that links major affiliate services centered around KakaoTalk.
According to industry sources on the 2nd, Kakao will conduct beta testing for the tentatively named “Kakao Membership” as early as October.
Kakao Group’s consumer-facing services are expected to be linked through the program, including emoticons and gift-giving on KakaoTalk; taxi services from Kakao Mobility; Melon, webtoons and web novels from Kakao Entertainment; fashion services from KakaoStyle; and screen golf from Kakao VX.
The specific launch date and service model have not yet been finalized.
Industry sources expect the service to offer some services for free or provide a set number of discount coupons to subscribers who pay a monthly fee.
The membership may also be linked with external platforms. Kakao currently provides “ChatGPT for Kakao” on KakaoTalk under a business agreement with OpenAI. Shina Chung, Kakao’s chief executive, also recently outlined plans for collaboration between Coupang Eats and KakaoTalk using agentic artificial intelligence (AI) during an earnings conference call.

[email protected] Jang Min-kwon Reporter