[DigitalToday reporter Lee Ho-jung] Kakao CEO Jeong Shin-a (정신아) has increased the likelihood of a second term by strengthening fundamentals while also delivering growth since taking office.

Industry sources said on Tuesday Kakao's board approved an agenda item to reappoint Jeong. Whether she is reappointed will be finalised after a vote at a regular shareholders' meeting in late March.

The industry expects Jeong's reappointment to proceed smoothly. That is because she has been recognised for delivering record results during a crisis and reorganising group governance.

Since Jeong took office, Kakao has succeeded in restructuring its business. It posted record results for two consecutive quarters in the second and third quarters of 2025. In particular, in the third quarter of last year it posted consolidated revenue of 2.0866 trillion won and operating profit of 208.0 billion won. This was the first time operating profit topped 200.0 billion won, and the operating margin recovered to around 10 percent for the first time in about 4 years.

It also carried out an intense restructuring. From right after taking office, it avoided sprawling expansion and pushed a governance overhaul to focus on core capabilities. As a result, it cut the number of affiliates to 94 now from 132 at the time she took office, a reduction of about 30 percent. The aim was to streamline affiliates with low relevance to its core business and focus resources on key businesses such as KakaoTalk and artificial intelligence (AI).

Jeong also focused on responsible management and restoring shareholder trust. Since last year, she has bought a total of 400 million won worth of treasury shares on the open market in four rounds and promised not to sell them during her tenure. Kakao also held an overseas investor relations (IR) event in which, for the first time since its founding, the chief executive officer (CEO) met overseas investors directly.

Kakao will shift its AI strategy under Jeong this year into an execution phase. It set its goal as 'agentic AI' that understands users' intent and context and responds flexibly. To that end, it plans to innovate user experience through 'Kanana in KakaoTalk' and 'ChatGPT for Kakao', among others.