| Minister of Science and ICT Lee Jong-ho apologizes for the recent fire-induced server failure that caused inconveniences to Kakao users during a National Assembly audit of the ministry at the Institute for Basic Science in Daejeon, Tuesday. Yonhap |
By Lee Kyung-min
Kakao is facing a severe backlash from consumers and regulators following a fire-induced service disruption of Kakao Talk, as a number of users are preparing for a class action lawsuit against the IT giant amid growing calls for a probe into its monopolistic status.
The service failure of the country's most-popular messenger app, and disruptions to the entire 134 services available on the online platform, are prompting a growing number of Kakao users to seek other service providers.
Data from Wiseapp, Retail and Goods, a real-time data analysis services provider, showed the user number of LINE, operated by local IT giant Naver, spiked to 1.28 million, Sunday, nearly tripling from 430,000 on Saturday.
The user number of Telegram, a cloud-based instant messaging app, surged to 1.28 million, Sunday, up from 1.06 million, Friday.
“People have no reason to use Kakao when they can find similar apps on the market right away,” an industry watcher said. “They don't care how widely used Kakao services are. When it can't meet their needs and others can, they will not waste any more time.”
The fire at an SK C&C data center in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, Saturday, led to the shutdown of electricity to Kakao's servers and the server outage lasted for over 10 hours. As of Tuesday afternoon, some of its services were still not available.
Further clouing Kakao's business prospects is the government's move to tighten scrutiny over the IT firm's market monopoly, the chief cause of key services grinding to a halt, including financial, mobility, commerce, music streaming, webtoon, social networking, email and blogging.
The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) said Tuesday that it is fine-tuning the specifics of a regulation whereby online platform operators will be penalized for abusing their market dominance.
The announcement came on the heels of President Yoon Suk-yeol's comment a day earlier. He told reporters that the government should map out response measures to reorient the market heavily distorted by monopolistic or oligopolistic practices, especially when the public almost exclusively relies on the infrastructure formed by a single market player.
“The government should outline an institutional framework for the public good,” he said on his way to work, Monday. “It is nothing short of a failure of a key national infrastructure. The Kakao platform is operated by a private market player, but to most of the public, it is essentially a public communication channel.”
Necessary systems will be established to prevent the recurrence of accidents, he added, and any similar incidents of this sort will be briefed and countered immediately, followed by a recovery of servers and data, as overseen by the minister of Science and ICT.
A growing number of frustrated Kakao users are moving to file damage compensation suits for financial losses caused by the service failure. About 100 people are seeking legal measures represented by LKB & Partners, a local law firm.
However, few believe the collective action will have merit, since Kakao provided the services free of charge and therefore may not be held liable.
Kakao said Tuesday key functions of its mailing services are almost fully restored, alongside earlier disrupted services including music, in-car GPS navigation and gaming.
“Some other services will be provided as soon as data recovery is completed,” a Kakao official said. “The speed of each data varies due to the complexity and volume of information stored and the equipment needed. We will continue monitoring to ensure speedy responses to service delays and failures. Specific prevention measures will be rolled out soon,” the official added.
Minister of Science and ICT Lee Jong-ho said weakened stability in the communication services will undermine the function of economic and social activities beyond public inconveniences, a reason why the government is recognizing the gravity of the situation.
“Up to 95 percent of the power has been recovered, and major functions of Kakao services including mobility and messenger app have been restored,” he said during a parliamentary audit of the ministry at the Institute for Basic Science in Daejeon Tuesday. “We will map out measures to prevent the recurrence of user inconvenience of this sort.”