Hong Min-taek, Kakao's Chief Product Officer (CPO), is giving a presentation at the 'if Kakao' conference held at Kakao AI Campus in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, last September. [Photo courtesy of Kakao] 

Hong Min-taek, Kakao[035720] Chief Product Officer (CPO) who led a major overhaul of KakaoTalk last year, is leaving Kakao.

According to the information technology (IT) industry on the 27th, CPO Hong recently submitted his resignation and is in the process of leaving the company.

An industry official said, "I understand that he is leaving the company by agreement with management, based on his own will."

The departure process is expected to be completed by early next month.

The IT industry views the controversy surrounding the KakaoTalk overhaul last year as having influenced CPO Hong's position.

The controversy arose after the KakaoTalk update in September last year. Kakao introduced a grid-based feed to the 'Friends' tab, the first screen, and expanded the exposure of posts and news from acquaintances.

Previously, it was a space where friends lists were checked like a phone book, but after the overhaul, it was perceived as closer to a social media (SNS) type screen.

However, users criticized that it became inconvenient to find the friends list and that the messenger's core essence was weakened.

Subsequently, Kakao reverted some features to place the friends list back at the forefront.

Kakao is expected to reorganize its product organizations, including KakaoTalk, once CPO Hong steps down.

Kakao is pursuing AI-integrated services centered around KakaoTalk and the advancement of revenue-generating businesses such as advertising and commerce this year.

It is known that the selection of a successor will be reviewed in a way that minimizes work disruption.

Previously, CPO Hong joined Kakao in February last year after working at Viva Republica (Toss) and serving as CEO of Toss Bank. At Kakao, he has been in charge of product strategy for major services.