Kakao Plans Paid Membership Bundling KakaoTalk, Taxi, Melon, and Shopping Services

Beta Launch Expected as Early as Next Month

Kakao is preparing to launch a paid membership service that integrates major affiliate offerings—such as taxi and shopping services—and user benefits, centering around KakaoTalk.

According to the IT industry on September 2, Kakao is considering introducing a beta version of the so-called "Kakao Membership" as early as next month. However, details such as the structure of the membership service, launch timeline, and subscription fees have not yet been decided.

Kakao Pangyo Agit in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

Affiliate services expected to be included in Kakao Membership are various Kakao brands: KakaoTalk's emoticons, the gifting service, Talk Cloud file management, Kakao Mobility's Kakao T, Kakao Entertainment's Melon and Kakao Webtoon, and KakaoStyle's fashion platform Zigzag.

Industry insiders expect that the Kakao Membership will allow users, in exchange for a monthly subscription fee, to access certain services for free or enjoy discounts and benefits tailored to each service.

Kakao already offers subscription-based services such as "Emoticon Plus," which allows unlimited use of KakaoTalk emoticons, and "Talk Cloud," which lets users manage files sent and received via KakaoTalk. Kakao Mobility provides monthly subscription products focused on parking and taxi usage, and Kakao Entertainment sells music streaming subscriptions through Melon.

Given that Kakao is already providing "ChatGPT for Kakao" in partnership with OpenAI within KakaoTalk, there’s also the possibility of integrating third-party services. In Kakao’s recent Q2 earnings call, CEO Shin Ji-na revealed plans to collaborate between Coupang Eats and KakaoTalk using agentic artificial intelligence (AI).

Previously, on August 21, Kakao publicly announced its intention to split the company through a vertical spin-off into Kakao AI and Kakao X. The new entity, Kakao AI, will be responsible for KakaoTalk, AI, advertising, and commerce businesses, while Kakao X will oversee and invest in affiliates such as Kakao Bank, Kakao Entertainment, and Kakao Mobility.

A Kakao representative stated, "We are preparing a membership service that integrates Kakao’s diverse services and user benefits," and added, "Details including the launch schedule and service composition remain undecided."

However, Kakao explained that the introduction of this membership service does not indicate an overall shift toward paid access for its offerings. The representative emphasized, "The new membership bundles paid services for discounted rates or offers new benefits. It does not mean that services previously provided for free will now become paid."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.