In a New Year message sent to all executives and employees of Kakao and its affiliates on the 8th, Chairman of the Board of Directors Kim Beom-soo, who founded Kakao, announced that he would donate more than half of his assets to solve social problems. The picture is Kakao Kim Bum-soo, Chairman of the Board of Directors. Photo = Yonhap News
Kakao founder Kim Beom-soo, chairman of Kakao’s board of directors, announced on the 8th that “We will give up more than half of our assets to solve social problems. At present, it is a huge sum of over 5 trillion won in terms of equity value alone, and it is the first declaration of property restitution among the total number of large domestic companies, and there are reactions that are surprising in the business world. Some say that it reminds me of the founder of Microsoft, Bill Gates, who lives a charitable life with a large donation after retirement.
“You can’t delay your donation decision anymore”
According to Kakao, Chairman Kim left the first message of this content on the employee communication channel’Kakao Community Times’, which was first introduced on the day.
He said, “(Last year), as I witnessed the intensification of social problems in various fields during the turbulent period, I felt that I should not delay my resolution anymore.” He added, “I made a pledge to donate more than half of my assets to solve social problems during my future life,” he added. “We are also pursuing an appropriate donation pledge so that the commitment can become an official promise.”
In celebration of the 10th anniversary of Kakao Talk, Kakao Chairman Kim Beom-soo faces Kakao’s representative character’Ryan’. Cacao offer
Earlier, on the 10th anniversary of Kakao Talk in March of last year, Chairman Kim said, “I think I want to be more interested in social issues and actively seek solutions to problems.” In an interview in 2017, he said, “Because I’ve gained much more wealth than my efforts, it seems like more than that is a bonus.”
Kakao’s internal and external interpretation is that it seems that he has made a decision to donate his property after thinking about what to do after this remark.
Always actively donating… Estimated at least 5 trillion donations
Chairman Kim has been famous for being an active entrepreneur in donations. Unlike ordinary corporate donations made in the name of a company during the year-end and New Year holidays, he has made frequent donations using his own stocks.
The donation of stocks continued every year, starting with the donation of 10,000 stocks to the Ashoka Korea Foundation, which discovers and supports social entrepreneurs in July 2016. Last year, he donated 11,000 shares to the Corona 19 victims at the beginning of the year, and released 1 billion won worth of Kakao shares in the summer to help victims of torrential rain. Chairman Kim’s share of Kakao (currently 13.74%) is decreasing due to the continued donation of stocks. Chairman Kim has never sold stocks for purposes of profit-taking other than donations.
Currently, Chairman Kim’s fortune is estimated to be around 10 trillion won. It is the sum of the value of Kakao’s stake (12.5 million shares) (5 trillion won) held by Chairman Kim and the value of his Kakao stake (11%) through a private company (K Cube Holdings). Since it is said that more than half of the donation is said, only the donation at the present time reaches 5 trillion won.
“The usage is still undecided”
However, the use of donations has not been decided yet. Chairman Kim said, “It is the stage of contemplating how to use it in detail,” and “I intend to find and support people to solve social problems in areas that are difficult for Kakao to access.”
It is expected that various social contribution activities will be carried out through foundations established by themselves like Bill Gates and Warren Buffett. Chairman Kim also established a non-profit organization (Kakao Impact) dedicated to social contribution activities in 2018. An official from Kakao explained, “We will start various experiments to solve social problems through various foundations or Kakao Impact investments.”
Kakao Friends character’Ryan’. Cacao offer
Earlier, Chairman Kim donated 60,000 shares to each of his two children, causing a’controversy over succession’, but this controversy is expected to subside with the promise of a large donation.
An official from Kakao said, “Chairman Kim made it clear that he would not take over the child, and he has always revealed his intention to donate to his family,” said an official of Kakao. Said.
Kim Dong-wook reporter [email protected]
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