Kakao decided to separate DAUM into CIC

2014년 5월 26일 최세훈 前다음커뮤니케이션 대표(왼쪽)과 이석우 前카카오 대표가 양사의 합병을 발표한 후 포즈를 취하고 있다.

KAKAO는 포털 DAUM 사업을 담당하는 CIC ; Company In Company를 오는 5월 15일에 설립해 관계형 커머스 플랫폼으로서의 입지를 강화한다고 밝혔습니다. 
KAKAO는 검색 및 콘텐츠 유통 플랫폼으로서 DAUM 서비스의 가치에 더욱 집중하고 성과를 내고자 DAUM 사업부문을 CIC로 운영하기로 결정했다고 설명했습니다. 신속하고 독자적인 의사결정이 가능한 조직체계를 확립해 DAUM 서비스만의 목표를 수립하고 서비스 경쟁력을 높이겠다는 전략입니다. DAUM CIC는 검색, 미디어, 커뮤니티 서비스 등 핵심 사업을 중심으로 도약의 발판을 마련할 계획인데요, 특히 급변하는 트렌드에 맞춰 인공지능(AI)를 활용한 신규 서비스를 출시해 이용자들에게 새로운 경험을 제공하고 기술 선도적 서비스로 거듭나겠다는 목표를 가지고 있습니다. DAUM CIC의 대표는 황유지 現DAUM사업부문장이 내정되었습니다. 

1995년에 설립한 DAUM은 대한민국 인터넷 트렌드를 주도하였었습니다. 국내 최초 무료 이메일 서비스인 '한메일'과 국내 최대 온라인 커뮤니티인 'DAUM CAFE', 검색엔진인 포털 'DAUM 검색'으로 시너지를 높이며 글로벌 사업자인 YAHOO를 제치고 국내 검색엔진 점유율 1위를 차지했었습니다. 그러다 2002년 '온라인 우표제'라는 일종의 이메일 유료 정책을 발표하면서 많은 사용자가 이탈하기 시작했고, 결국 2005년 NAVER에 검색엔진 점유율 1위를 내주게 되었습니다. 2010년대에 접어들어 모바일 시장이 열리면서 DAUM의 입지는 더욱 좁아지게 되었는데요. 경쟁사인 NAVER는 NAVER APP과 네이버 웹툰, 메신저 'LINE'등으로 글로벌 진출까지 성공하며 모바일 시장에 안착한 것에 비해, DAUM은 PC에서 모바일로 변화하는 시장에 제대로 적응하지 못하며 점유율을 잃어갔습니다. 20011년부터 3년 연속 마이너스 성장을 기록하였고, 결국 2014년 KAKAO와의 합병을 추진하게 됩니다. 당시 국내 검색엔진 시장 점유율은 NAVER가 약 70%, DAUM이 약 20% 수준이었습니다. KAKAO는 3,700백만명의 가입자를 확보한 국민 메신저 서비스 업체였기 때문에 DAUM과 KAKAO의 합병을 통해 포털내의 콘텐츠 확보와 우회 상장을 통해 자금 활로도 기대하였습니다. 그러나, DAUM과 KAKAO의 합병은 특별한 시너지를 발휘하지 못했습니다. 모바일 서비스의 성장으로 포털보다 인스타그램, 틱톡 등 SNS나 유튜브 등 동영상 플랫폼을 검색 도구로 활용하는 사람이 늘었기 때문입니다. 2022년 4분기를 기준으로 한 국내 검색 엔진 점유율은 구글이 66.1%, NAVER가 28.6%, BING이 2.7%, DAUM이 1.6%입니다. 결국 KAKAO는 'DAUM CIC분리'라는 강수를 두게 된 것입니다. 

 이로써 DAUM은 2014년 메신저 서비스 업체인 카카오(KAKAO)와 합병한지 9년만에 이별하게 되었습니다. 메신저 서비스인 카카오톡과 포털 서비스인 다음이 시너지를 내지 못하고 결국 각자도생을 택하게 되었다고 판단할 수 있을 것 같습니다. 이제 다시 홀로서기를 시작하게 된 DAUM은 포털 서비스 본연에 집중하며 스스로의 가치를 증명해야 할 것입니다.

 

 

KAKAO announced that it will establish CIC; Company In Company, which is in charge of the portal DAUM business, on May 15 to strengthen its position as a relational commerce platform.
KAKAO explained that it has decided to operate its DAUM business as a CIC to focus more on the value of DAUM services as a search and content distribution platform and achieve results. The strategy is to establish an organizational system that enables rapid and independent decision-making to establish goals for DAUM services and increase service competitiveness. DAUM CIC plans to set the stage for a leap forward focusing on core businesses such as search, media, and community services. In particular, it aims to provide users with new experiences and become a technology-leading service by launching new services using artificial intelligence (AI) in line with rapidly changing trends. The head of DAUM CIC is Hwang Yu-ji, head of the DAUM business division.

Founded in 1995, DAUM has led the Internet trend in Korea. It topped the list of search engines in Korea, beating global operator YAHOO by increasing synergy with Hanmail, the first free e-mail service in Korea, DAUM CAFE, the largest online community in Korea, and DAUM Search, the search engine portal DAUM search. Then in 2002, when a kind of e-mail-paying policy called the "Online Stamp System" was announced, many users began to leave, and in 2005, they eventually gave NAVER the No. 1 search engine share. As the mobile market opened in the 2010s, DAUM's position became narrower. While its competitor NAVER has successfully entered the mobile market with NAVER APP, Naver Webtoon, and messenger LINE, DAUM has lost its market share due to its inability to adapt properly to the changing market from PC to mobile. It recorded negative growth for three consecutive years from 2011 and eventually pushed for a merger with KAKAO in 2014. At that time, the domestic search engine market share was about 70% for NAVER and 20% for DAUM. Since KAKAO was a national messenger service company with 37 million subscribers, it was also expected to secure contents in the portal through the merger of DAUM and KAKAO and to make a financial way through indirect listing. However, the merger of DAUM and KAKAO did not produce any special synergy. This is because more and more people use video platforms such as SNS and YouTube as search tools rather than portals due to the growth of mobile services. As of the fourth quarter of 2022, domestic search engine share is 66.1% for Google, 28.6% for NAVER, 2.7% for BING, and 1.6% for DAUM. In the end, KAKAO had a precipitation called 'DAUM CIC separation'.

As a result, DAUM broke up nine years after merging with Kakao, a messenger service provider, in 2014. Kakao Talk, a messenger service, and Daum, a portal service, failed to create synergy and ended up choosing their own lives. Now that DAUM is back on its own, it will have to prove its value by focusing on the original portal service.