[E-Daily Reporter Lee So-Hyun ] “We’re currently at ‘TO ZERO,’ so it’s difficult to fill positions.”

Recently, within Kakao(035720), a clear personnel policy has emerged: even when vacancies arise, they are filled through internal transfers rather than external hiring. At a time when the company is calling for a major AI-centered transformation, effectively closing the door on experienced hires is a significant signal. With global Big Tech companies staking their survival on securing key AI talent, Kakao’s approach appears to prioritize “immediate cost savings” over investment in the future.

Last year, Kakao conducted its first-ever group-wide open recruitment drive, declaring its intent to secure “AI-native” talent. However, if the current atmosphere—where even hiring for essential experienced positions has come to a standstill—persists, the sustainability of Kakao’s AI talent strategy will inevitably be called into question. While a hiring freeze is sweeping across the domestic big tech sector—with Naver, for instance, unable to finalize the schedule for its group-wide “Team Naver” recruitment—Kakao’s situation is particularly painful, compounded by escalating internal conflicts.

The worsening labor-management conflict is an urgent issue Kakao must resolve. Following partial strikes and “Logout Day,” the Kakao labor union has now announced plans for picket protests within the company. With issues such as job insecurity, restructuring, and calls for management accountability all piling onto the wage negotiation table at once, a compromise is becoming increasingly elusive.

Management is not without blame either. If the company demands sacrifices from employees without sufficiently explaining its workforce management principles and future vision during the AI transition, it will be difficult to restore trust. The Compliance and Trust Committee must also urge both labor and management to engage in responsible dialogue and develop an exit strategy.

Most seriously, the market is coldly pointing out Kakao’s “lack of a future strategy,” which has been obscured by the labor-management conflict. Kakao is attempting a turnaround by collaborating with OpenAI and Google and promoting its own AI service, “Kanana.” However, its blueprint for which AI technologies to position as core competitive advantages and how to generate revenue remains vague. While labor-management conflict may serve as a short-term excuse for the stock price decline, it cannot act as a shield to mask the lack of a future vision.

The market’s interest in Kakao lies not in the outcome of wage negotiations, but in “how and with what it will grow beyond KakaoTalk, the nation’s most popular messaging app.” If “TO ZERO” remains merely a slogan for cost-cutting, Kakao will inevitably be left behind in the race for leadership in the coming AI era. What Kakao truly needs right now is not a strategy to immediately reduce its workforce, but a clear answer to the question: “With what kind of talent will we usher in the AI era?”