Kakao is providing support for academic research to explore how its platforms affect business partners' ecosystems and economic growth.

On July 1, Kakao begins accepting applications for its '2026 Digital Platform Daily Life Innovation Research Support' call, the company said. The programme is being held for a second year in a row, and each selected project will receive 20 million won in research funding.

This year's research will focus on how Kakao Group platform services such as Kakao, KakaoPay, Kakao Mobility and Kakao Entertainment affect a range of business partners including creators, small business owners and companies. It is accepting research proposals without restrictions on academic fields, including management, economics, society, psychology, education, design and engineering.

Applicants must be researchers with a record of publishing papers as a lead author or corresponding author in domestic or overseas academic journals. Domestic journals are based on those registered with the Korea Citation Index, including top-tier registered journals, while overseas journals are based on those at the level of SCI, SSCI, SCIE, A&HCI and Scopus.

Applications will be accepted from Aug. 1 to Aug. 31 and can be submitted by email. A panel of judges comprising Kakao and external academic experts will comprehensively evaluate originality, feasibility, suitability and expected contribution, among other factors. Selected research teams will conduct their research from October to January next year, and the results are set to be presented at an event hosted by Kakao in the first half of 2027.

Kwon Dae-yeol (권대열), ESG lead of Kakao's CA Council, said, "Following last year’s focus on users’ daily life innovation, this year we want to examine with experts in our society how digital platforms are contributing to the economic growth of business partners." He said, "It will be an opportunity to confirm the growth opportunities platforms create for various partners and to think together about directions for sustainable development of the ecosystem."

Kakao plans to continue its efforts with academia to build a healthy platform ecosystem and spread social value.