▶ Why did you talk about donation at this point?
There are two main opinions.
The first is the view that Chairman Kim was very interested in solving social problems. In a message to all employees, Chairman Kim said, “I made a pledge to donate more than half of my property to solve social problems during my life in the future.” He said, “In the turbulent period, as I witnessed the deepening of social problems in various fields, I felt that I should not delay my determination any more.” He said, “We are also pursuing an appropriate donation pledge so that the pledge can become an official promise.”
On the other hand, there is a view that it is’breaking through the front’ when raising public problems. K Cube Holdings, which he owns 100%, is the second largest shareholder of Kakao. However, as of 2019, the company had 5 employees, and it received 4 billion won in dividends and 2.4 billion won in wages. In addition, Chairman Kim’s brother-in-law and younger brother took turns serving as representatives, and last year, Chairman Kim Beom-soo’s son and daughter joined the company and received attention as a company that gave management classes. In addition, public suspicion was raised over whether K-cube would be passed on to children so that they could naturally control Kakao. In response to such continued suspicion and raising of problems, analysis continues, centering on stock marketers, that it may be the announcement that Chairman Kim is willing to organize K-Cube in some way, such as returning to society.
▶Where and how to donate.
Chairman Kim explained, “We are now starting to think about how to use it concretely,” and “I will find and support people to solve social problems in areas that are difficult for Kakao to approach.” He added, “As there are more and more problems that cannot be solved with the existing method, I think that I have to gather wisdom together.”
Kakao Co-CEO Yeo Min-soo said, “(Chairman Kim’s) increase of Kakao’s corporate value through this decision is the foundation for creating a better society and environment, and advanced corporate management and donation culture. It is expected to be a catalyst for opening.”
▶Can the donation amount be bigger?
2020 was a monumental year for Kakao. It exceeded 4 trillion won in annual sales for the first time since its foundation last year. The operating margin rose to double digits for the first time in history, and the stock price soared more than 144%. The financial ranking is likely to rise further from the 23rd place in 2019.
In addition, there is a lot of news that is expected to improve performance in the new year.
The movie ‘Seungri-ho’ was successful in the global box office, but Kakao Page, which has a large number of intellectual property rights such as webtoons and web novels, is highly likely to create more such cases. In addition, the corporate value of Kakao, the major shareholder, could be higher if KakaoM, which has a drama and film production company, and Kakao M, which has a drama and film production company, will soon be merged or listed.
Kakao Bank, which is estimated to have already exceeded the market cap of commercial banks, is about to go public soon, so further increase in corporate value can be expected.
Kakao’s own growth potential is also high. Biz Board, which grew rapidly last year, is playing a big role as a new revenue source for Kakao. Biz Board exceeded the average daily sales of 1 billion won as of December 2020, but advertisers are expected to increase further.
Shin Ji-hye, a member of the evaluation committee for Korean corporate data, said, “We are attaching biz boards to various Kakao services such as Kakao Talk, Kakao Page, and Kakao T. Ad sales are steadily increasing and ad unit prices are also rising as advertiser demand increases. Kakao said, “There is a lot of room for stock price to rise in the future.”
Considering this, the later the timing of Kim’s donation, the greater the amount of social return can be. There is also an analysis that the value of Kakao’s company can more than double in two to three years in stock prices.
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