Kakao launches first integrated membership at 4,900 won a month

Rewards, content and value perks bundled together; first-come, first-served sign-ups to expand gradually; new members receive shares and CJ Olive Young coupons

An exterior view of Kakao's headquarters. [Herald DB]

Kakao launched its first integrated membership service Thursday, priced at 4,900 won per month, bundling its existing subscription, shopping, financial and content offerings into a single plan as it enters the membership ecosystem dominated by Naver and Coupang Inc.

The soft launch, which opens sign-ups to a limited number of users on a first-come, first-served basis, is expected to shake up South Korea's membership market. It also marks the first major strategic move by Kakao Chief Executive Jeong Shin-ah since the company announced plans for a corporate split, drawing considerable market attention.

Kakao Chief Executive Jeong Shin-ah. [Kakao]

Kakao said Thursday it is accepting first-come, first-served applications for Kakao Membership. The plan integrates a range of Kakao services — including Gift, Talk Deal, Kakao Pay, Melon, Kakao Page, emoticons, Talk Cloud, non-life insurance and securities — for a monthly fee of 4,900 won.

To ensure service stability at launch, sign-ups are initially limited to a small pool of users on a first-come, first-served basis, with enrollment to be expanded gradually thereafter.

A promotional image for Kakao Membership, launched Thursday. [Kakao]

Kakao Membership is structured around three benefit categories: rewards, content and value perks. The rewards category covers shopping-point and Kakao Pay point accumulation. Shopping points are earned at 0.5 to 5 percent of the payment amount — regardless of payment method — on Gift and Talk Deal purchases, up to a maximum of 20,000 points per month. Kakao Pay points accrue at 0.5 to 1 percent when paying with Kakao Pay Money on Gift and Talk Deal, and at 0.5 to 2 percent for offline payments, up to a maximum of 50,000 points per month.

Accumulated shopping points and Kakao Pay points can be used on Gift and Talk Deal. Kakao Pay points can also be spent at offline locations such as convenience stores and cafes.

The content benefit offers a choice between an Emoticon Plus subscription or a Talk Cloud plan, each valued at 3,900 won. Members can choose either Emoticon Plus — which allows unlimited downloads of more than 850,000 Kakao emoticons — or a 130-gigabyte Talk Cloud pass that automatically backs up KakaoTalk conversations and media files.

The value perks consist of 2,000 Kakao Page cash, a cashback of up to 4,900 won on domestic stock-selling commissions through Kakao Pay Securities, a compensation of up to 70,000 won ($52) for mobile phone screen damage through Kakao Pay Non-Life Insurance, and a discounted Melon streaming light subscription.

To mark the launch, Kakao is offering a "first meeting" welcome benefit to new members. It includes a domestic stock worth 4,900 won deposited into a Kakao Pay Securities account — one randomly selected from fractional-trading eligible stocks — and a total of 6,000 won in Melon cash, delivered as 3,000 won per showing with the second showing issued automatically upon applying for the first, each provided once.

Members under 19 will receive a 5,000-won CJ Olive Young discount coupon instead of the domestic stock. The Melon cash provided as a welcome benefit can be applied in full or in part toward Melon regular and fixed-term subscription plans. Members can also enjoy additional discounts and rewards through Kakao Friends coupons, Talk Deal coupons, Gift coupons and Kakao Pay's Good Deal offers.

"Kakao Membership brings together the benefits users need across their daily lives — from subscriptions and shopping to content and value perks," said Kim Min-gyu, a performance leader at Kakao. "We will expand the benefits by linking more services and deliver exclusive, high-value experiences available only through Kakao Membership."

Kakao employees arrive at the company's Pangyo office in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province. Photo by Lim Se-jun

Kakao Membership can be joined through an open notification message sent to KakaoTalk channel friends or via the settings menu under "More." Users who add the Kakao Membership Talk channel as a friend will receive alerts when additional sign-up slots become available.

ko@heraldcorp.com