Social distancing makes chat app tycoon US$1.2bil richer

A file photo of models posing with devices running the KakaoTalk app at the official launch event at Publika, Kuala Lumpur. KakaoTalk has 52 million users globally, including more than 45 million in South Korea – almost 90% of the total population. — IZZRAFIQ ALIAS/The Star

As a kid in South Korea, Brian Kim grew up with the opposite of social distancing: Coming from a humble background, he had to share a room with seven family members. Those days are gone, and measures keeping people apart are now helping his fortune.

Kim, 54, is the founder of Kakao Corp, the maker of a mobile messenger app that has become almost ubiquitous in South Korea and increasingly used elsewhere in Asia. The firm, which started with a social-messaging app, has expanded its businesses over the past decade by purchasing a K-pop entertainment company and merging with the country’s second-largest portal site, while its mobile-hailing and payment services are now daily necessities for many consumers.