Kakao reviewed the performance of its fair trade compliance program (CP) on the second anniversary of its introduction and disclosed plans to strengthen it in the second half of the year. Kakao on Aug. 19 shared the past two years of CP performance and direction with all employees and said it will further refine operations with a focus on practical use.

Kakao introduced the CP in August 2024 and has since updated related rules and operating systems and gradually built a risk assessment framework. In June, it created a fair trade page on its sustainability management website and published a fair trade practice declaration. From the second half of this year, it plans to reflect compliance items in leader evaluations, including prior review of legal risks and compliance with relevant laws and internal policies.

It also expanded employee training. Kakao produced and distributed a compliance handbook and runs tailored training by department and a newsletter. This year, in addition to online training, it held 7 offline training sessions on topics including consent decrees, unfair internal transactions and the Subcontract Act. In the second half, it plans to hold participation events under the in-house contest brand "LET'S CP" and to run the "Kakao Compliance Awards" to reward top-performing organisations and employees.

Kakao CEO Shina Chung (정신아) said, "With efforts over the past two years, Kakao has systematically updated fair trade-related rules and policies and built a system to review and manage in advance risks that may arise in the course of business." She added, "We will continue to regularly review the status and performance of CP operations and continuously supplement them so that necessary systems and support work effectively in the field."

Youngshin Jang (장영신), the performance leader for compliance operations who serves as the compliance officer, said, "We plan to continuously advance the CP framework in the second half as well so that a culture of compliance can naturally take root in practical work." She added, "In particular, we will continue to create an environment in which members can understand and practise fair trade more easily, including by increasing the usability and accessibility of the compliance handbook by actively leveraging Kakao's strengths as an IT company."