Kakao, the operator of South Korea’s dominant mobile messenger KakaoTalk, has been rated the country’s “most promising” information technology company, according to a research report Tuesday.

According to a nationwide survey conducted by Seoul-based market research provider Consumer Insight, Kakao ranked No. 1 in terms of the most promising IT company. 


Kakao’s forays into new services beyond its flagship mobile messenger -- including taxi hailing, navigation, financial technology as well as beauty services -- were viewed as positive steps in preparing new future growth engines, Consumer Insight said.

Meanwhile, Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics ranked No. 1 in terms of the most preferred company, as measured by the degree of favorable perception among the Korean public.

Preferences for IT companies differed according to age, the market research firm said.

When presented with a list of Korea’s 10 largest IT companies, a majority of the surveyed teens selected Naver (51 percent) as their most preferred company.

A majority of those in their 20s (42 percent) chose Google, while those in their 30s (39 percent) chose Kakao. Those in their 40s (49 percent) and 50s (65 percent) chose Samsung as their most preferred IT company.

Meanwhile, Korea’s top three network operators SK Telecom, KT and LG Uplus, which were included in the survey, showed low levels of preference among the public, Consumer Insight said.

By Sohn Ji-young (jys@heraldcorp.com)