As Daum Communications and Kakao are embroiled in disputes of political ideology ahead of their merger, many are calling for maintaining neutrality. Daum is generally acknowledged to be skewed to the left on the political spectrum, whereas Kakao was previously caught up in controversy over using the conservative camp. Hence, the political tendencies may continue to be a big burden for the merged company.
There are increasing concerns that the innovative image of IT is being overshadowed by the political aspects.
According to industry sources on Sept. 28, there are 55 million mobile phone subscribers nationwide, and the number of smartphone users is 38 million. Among them, the number of Kakaotalk users amounts to 36.49 million, accounting for 96 percent of the total smartphone users in the country. The ability of the top mobile messenger app to influence public opinion in the nation is considered to be significant. Thus, a growing number of people are worried about the possibility that Kakao will use its merger with Daum as political leverage rather than an opportunity to create synergy.
The ruling party already pointed out the political slant of a new service called Kakao Topic, while the opposition party said that KakaoTalk is being utilized as a method to deliver the messages of conservative groups.
The ruling party appears to take Kakao Topic seriously, in that two online communities linked with the newly-introduced service that recommends customized content have a strong progressive tendency. The two communities, which came under spotlights during the police investigation of possible political intervention by the National Intelligence Service, are currently classified as representative left-leaning communities in issues, including the Sewol ferry disaster.
On the other hand, the opposition bloc pointed out that conservative groups distribute incorrect information using KakaoTalk. “KakaoTalk can deliver messages very fast through group chat rooms,” said the Publicity Committee of the New Politics Alliance for Democracy in its report on Kakao. The report added, “Conservative groups tend to organize the creation and distribution of wrong information via Kakaotalk.”
With these kinds of disputes escalating, a sudden overhaul of Kakao's services is expected if the services are entangled in political disputes after the Daum-Kakao merger.