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Launch of Kakao Membership. / Kakao

Kakao has launched its first integrated membership, bundling Gift, shopping, payment, content, and financial services into a single package. For 4,900 won per month, subscribers earn reward points across major Kakao services while accessing benefits such as emoticons, cloud storage, and financial or insurance perks. The strategy aims to tie disparate Kakao services together through a membership model, locking users into the broader Kakao ecosystem.

According to Kakao on the 1st, Kakao Membership will initially enroll a limited number of users on a first-come, first-served basis to stabilize the service. The company plans to expand subscriber rolls in phases, with users able to receive recruitment notifications by adding the Kakao Membership Talk Channel.

At the core is a reward structure that scales benefits as users engage more heavily with Kakao's shopping and payment services. Purchases made via Gift and Talk Deal earn between 0.5% and 5% of the transaction amount in shopping points regardless of payment method, capped at 20,000 points per month. Paying through Kakao Pay Money earns an additional 0.5% to 1% for Gift and Talk Deal orders, alongside 0.5% to 2% for offline transactions, with a monthly cap of up to 50,000 Kakao Pay points. Kakao Pay points can be redeemed at brick-and-mortar locations, including convenience stores and cafes.

Subscribers can choose each month between Emoticon Plus (valued at 3,900 won) and a 130 GB Talk Cloud pass. Emoticon Plus provides access to more than 850,000 Kakao emoticons, while Talk Cloud automatically backs up KakaoTalk chat histories and media files such as photos and videos.

Additional perks include 2,000 KakaoPage cash, a cashback of up to 4,900 won on domestic stock selling fees via Kakao Pay Securities, coverage of up to 70,000 won for cracked phone screens through Kakao Pay Insurance, and discounted subscriptions to Melon Streaming Lite. New subscribers receive a one-time grant of 4,900 won worth of domestic stocks and 6,000 won in Melon cash. Subscribers under age 19 receive a 5,000-won Olive Young discount coupon in lieu of the stock grant.

Kim Min-kyu, performance leader at Kakao, said, "We brought together the perks our users need across daily life, spanning subscriptions, shopping, content, and practical benefits." He added, "We will continue expanding our benefits in connection with diverse services going forward."

                                                                                                           Lee Seo-yeon