Park Jae-hyuk is a seasoned journalist who has provided comprehensive coverage of South Korea's corporate dynamics, economic policies, industry challenges and the global positioning of Korean companies. Based on the articles he has written since joining The Korea Times in 2016, his investigative approach has helped readers understand corporate governance, economic trends and business strategies shaping South Korea’s economy.
Appointment of workplace bully as co-CEO stirs employee discontent
Hong Eun-taek, co-CEO of Kakao / Courtesy of Kakao
By Park Jae-hyuk
By Park Jae-hyuk
Kakao is facing a backlash from some of its employees for appointing Hong Eun-taek, co-head of the company's Corporate Alignment Center (CAC), as co-CEO to lead the company alongside CEO Namkoong Whon, despite him bullying staff in the past, according to industry officials, Friday.
The IT giant announced his appointment, Thursday, saying he will focus on further strengthening the company's environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) management, which he was in charge of at the CAC.
Its employees, however, have raised questions as to whether the new co-CEO is eligible for the task, given that a “social” factor of the ESG depends on labor-management relations and workplace environments.
“The person who had assaulted an employee at the company's lobby was appointed as a CEO,” a Kakao employee wrote on Blind, an anonymous chat app for those verified as employees. “Bullies have always been successful in our company.”
The co-CEO's shady past came to the surface for the first time last year, when MBC reported that he was appointed as the Kakao Commerce CEO, even after he had been reprimanded by his company in 2016 for grabbing an employee by the collar and verbally abusing the employee.
According to the local broadcaster, a 25 percent reduction in annual salary was the only punishment Hong received, although the victim left Kakao after the incident.
Immediately after the report, Hong apologized once again through Facebook.
However, he claimed at that time that the victim and other Kakao employees had accepted his apology. He emphasized that all procedures regarding the disciplinary measures against him had been transparent.
He also said that the victim had been searching for a company to move to, even before the incident.
Krew Union, a group of unionized workers of Kakao and its affiliates, said Friday that it has yet to come up with any plan to disclose its official stance on Hong's appointment because it has been only a day since employees were informed of Hong's appointment.
Seo Seung-wook, the leader of the union, however, did not rule out the possibility of the unionized employees taking action against Hong and the company.
“As you read on the Blind app, his image has not been good among employees,” Seo said. “It seems that we need internal discussions about this issue.”