Hong Min-taek (홍민택), Kakao's chief product officer (CPO) who led the overhaul of Kakaotalk, is leaving the company before completing his term.

Industry sources said on May 27 that Hong recently submitted his resignation and is in the process of leaving.

Hong, a former chief executive of Toss Bank, joined Kakao in February last year. He then led the "Big Bang Project" and spearheaded work to revamp Kakaotalk. In September last year, Kakao carried out a sweeping overhaul of the friends tab, Kakaotalk's first screen, into an Instagram-style feed. After strong user backlash, it pushed an update in December that year (version 25.11.0) that restored the list format as the default screen. Dissatisfaction has continued as a method that forces posts to be displayed has been applied to some users.

The original aim of the overhaul was to increase time spent on the platform and boost advertising revenue. After expanding ad placements across Kakaotalk, ad sales in the first quarter rose 16 percent from a year earlier. Despite gains on the revenue side, analysts say a shift in user sentiment ultimately had a decisive impact on Hong's future.

With Hong's departure, Kakao faces a leadership vacuum at a time when it must push both upgrades to its AI-linked services set to ramp up in earnest within the year and a recovery in profitability. Industry sources said Kakao plans to quickly appoint a successor CPO to minimise any management gap.