Kakao Holds Online Safety Forum for Children and Adolescents

[Financial News] Kakao held the 2026 Online Safety Forum for Children and Adolescents at Kakao Jeju Office on the 15th. The forum aimed to define digital safety for children and adolescents as a fundamental responsibility across all services and contribute to the development of related policies.
According to industry sources on the 16th, the forum was jointly hosted by Kakao, the Center for Teenage Girls’ Human Rights and the Jeju Women and Family Research Institute, with support from the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family and the Kering Foundation.
The forum, held for the first time this year, was organized to mark the second anniversary of a memorandum of understanding signed by Kakao and the Center for Teenage Girls’ Human Rights in September 2024 to strengthen policies protecting children and adolescents from sexual exploitation. It also reviewed the results of their collaboration and discussed ways to reinforce digital safety nets amid the rapidly changing online environment.
Iain Drennan, secretary-general of the WePROTECT Global Alliance, a global coalition for online child safety, delivered a keynote speech titled “A New Global Perspective on Online Child Safety” and shared international trends in responding to online threats against children. Lim Ha-jin, an activist with the monitoring team at the Center for Teenage Girls’ Human Rights, then presented “The Reality and Current Status of the Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents Online.” Lee Da-mi, who oversees youth protection at Kakao, gave a presentation titled “Change Created by Combining Field Expertise with Platform Execution.”
Since the second half of 2024, Kakao and the Center for Teenage Girls’ Human Rights have used regular consultations and a standing hotline to share newly identified patterns of sexual exploitation, as well as slang and evasive expressions used in the field. They have incorporated this information into prohibited-word management and improvements to service operating policies. They also established a system linking platform reports to practical victim support by directing reporters to the center’s specialized counseling services.
In its presentation, the Center for Teenage Girls’ Human Rights described Kakao’s strengthened operating policy—under which service access may be permanently restricted if a user has a record of violating policies related to sex crimes against children or adolescents—as a leading achievement and meaningful step forward for online safety. It identified Kakao’s response to new slang and evasive expressions related to sexual exploitation as one of the major changes. The center recommended expanding cooperation among platforms and jointly strengthening specialized monitoring and counseling personnel, as well as support systems to help child and adolescent victims recover.
At the forum, Kakao and the Center for Teenage Girls’ Human Rights also issued a joint declaration titled “Our Commitment to Creating a Safer Online World” to carry forward the purpose of their memorandum of understanding. Through the declaration, the two sides agreed to consider the safety of children and adolescents from the service-design stage and connect risks and patterns of harm identified in the field to improvements in technology and protection systems. They also shared their commitment to developing the forum into an ongoing platform for cooperation, expanding solidarity among the government, businesses, civil society and international organizations, and turning the declaration into action.
A panel discussion followed on the achievements of public-private cooperation and future challenges. Jo Jin-kyung, head of the Center for Teenage Girls’ Human Rights, moderated the session. Participants included Kim Ki-beom, a professor in the Department of Forensic Science at Sungkyunkwan University; Yoo Na-gyeom, head of the Women and Youth Affairs Division at Seongdong Police Station; Park Jeong-sik, director of the Violence Prevention Education Division at the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family; Lee Yun-hwa, head of the Family and Population Research Division at the Jeju Women and Family Research Institute; and Son Seong-hee, Kakao’s chief youth protection officer.
Shin Hong, Kakao’s ESG Cooperation Performance Leader, said, “We will continue working with various stakeholders, including the government and civil society, to create an environment where children and adolescents can safely enjoy the digital world.”
[email protected] Jang Min-kwon Reporter