Daum Kakao CEO faces summons for condoning child pornography

The head of South Korea's top mobile messenger operator Daum Kakao will be summoned for questioning Wednesday on charges of allowing child pornography to be shared on the popular messenger app Kakao Talk, police said.

Lee Sirgoo, the co-CEO of Daum Kakao, will be questioned over allegations that he failed to prevent child pornography from being freely exchanged on Kakao Group, the social networking service provided by the messenger app, according to the Daejeon Metropolitan Police Agency.

Lee used to head Kakao Group Corp., the original provider of Kakao Talk, before his company merged with Daum Communications Corp., South Korea's second-largest portal operator, in May.

All online service providers are obliged to take due measures to identity child pornography on their networks, according to South Korean law.

This marks the first time the head of an online service provider will be investigated on charges of violating laws on child pornography in South Korea.

The move comes after the police asked prosecutors to indict a 20-year-old man, identified only by his surname Jeon, for sharing massive amounts of child pornography through Kakao Group earlier this year. (Yonhap)